2. Success and Failure of
Dieting
STARTER – 5 mins
1. What is a diet
2. What are the different
types of diets?
Discuss, pair, share
HOT QUESTION
Learning Objectives
•ALL will understand what a
diet is and what reasons
people have for going on a
diet
•ALL will be able to give
reasons why diets succeed
and fail
•MOST will be able to describe
research which demonstrates
success and failure of dieting
Learning outcomes
• You will read dieting case studies and answer
questions
• You will take notes on Ao1 points about
dieting
• You will create your own case study using the
theories covered in this lesson.
Why does dieting often not work?
• 89% of women in Britain have been on some
form of diet (Klesges et al 1987)
• Millions of pounds are spent each year on the
diet industry
• Why do diets not always work?
• What makes a successful dieter?
• Discuss in 3’s
AO1
What is success?
• Wing and Hill (2001) defined success as
‘successful long-term weight loss maintenance,
involving the intentional loss of at least 10% of
initial body weight and keeping it off for at least
a year’
Case studies
• In 3 groups read your case study and discuss
and answer the questions.
• Prepare to feedback on your answers.
Oprah Winfrey
• Oprah is a famous American talk show host who has always
publically struggled with her weight. She recently started
the ‘slim fast’ diet that involves dramatically cutting back
on the amount of food she eats replacing each meal with
milk shake. Throughout a 6 week period Oprah struggled to
resist eating snacks and food other than the milkshakes
that weren’t allowed on the diet and often relapsed. After
this time she weighed herself and became frustrated that
her weight had actually increased compared with her friend
Rachael who rather than using a restriction diet simply
tried to eat healthy balanced meals.
Restraint Theory
AO1
• Herman and Mack (1975) suggest attempting
not to eat increases the probability of eating.
Boundaries model
AO1
• This explains how dieting leads to overeating.
• Hunger usually keeps intake of food above a
safe minimum.
• Satiety keeps intake below a safe maximum
level.
Herman and Polivy (1984)
Normal Eater
TOO little
Normal eating range
Satiety
Hunger
Dieter
TOO much
Normal eating range (larger)
Hunger
Diet boundary
Satiety
• Dieter have a larger range between hunger and satiety
because it takes longer to feel hungry and more food to
satisfy them
• Restrained eaters have a target or boundary they try to
stick to but this doesn’t make them full so they keep
eating!
Peter Kay
Peter Kay is a famous comedian who is currently very over
weight and struggling to lose it! He has tried different diets
including the Atkins diet, detox diet and weight watchers but
has found none of them work very well. Peter finds that every
time he tries to restrict his favourite foods like doner kebabs
he ends up thinking about them all the time. This just gets
worse and worse the longer he stays on a diet. After several
weeks on his last attempt to lose weight peter ended up going
out with some friends to the pub for a few drinks finally
ending up the kebab house devouring a doner.
Role of denial
AO1
• Cognitive Psychology has shown if you try to
suppress a thought on a regular basis you end
up thinking about it more!
• Wegnar et al (1987) demonstrated this.
• Ask 1 group of PP’s not to think about a white
bear and 1 group to think about it
• Both groups instructed to ring a bell if they
did. 1st group rang the bell more.
• Theory of ironic processes of mental control
Adele
• Adele is a super star who has a world renowned voice.
Adele has always struggled with her weight and has
tried many different diets. The most successful type of
dieting Adele has tried involved focusing on the
different foods that formed her 3 meals a day. Her
nutritionist has given Adele a diet plan with many
different recipes to stop her becoming bored with the
same old routine. This has proven to be quite
successful and Adele enjoys shopping and preparing
different ingredients written down on the plan for each
meal that she has.
Detail
AO1
• Attention to WHAT we eat is the key to successful
diet according to Redden (2008).
• Focusing on the detail of meals stops people
becoming bored of the diet/eating experience.
• Gave 135 pp’s 22 jelly beans, one at a time.
• When each bean was given out information was
flashed on a computer screen.
• Group 1 saw general info (Bean 6). Group 2 saw
info on flavour. Group 1 got bored of eating
quicker than group 2.
Plenary
• Design you own case study of someone on a
diet.
• Link the explanation of their success or failure
on the diet to a theory we have covered.
• Prepare to explain your case study.