Relationship Between Restrained Eating And Vegetarianism
The researchers surveyed women in college who were vegetarians, pesco-vegetarians, flexitarians, red meat avoiders, and omnivores. They found that, while avoiding red meat and flexitarian diets were related to concerns over diet, vegetarianism and pesco-vegetarianism were more likely to be related to ethical concerns.
Article Abstract:
“Previous research has suggested that vegetarianism may serve as a mask for restrained eating. The purpose of this study was to compare the dietary habits and lifestyle behaviors of vegetarians (n = 55), pesco-vegetarians (n = 28), semi-vegetarians (n = 29), and flexitarians (n = 37), to omnivores (n = 91), who do not restrict animal products from their diets. A convenience sample of college-age females completed questionnaires about their eating habits, food choice motivations, and personality characteristics.”
“Results indicated that while vegetarians and pesco-vegetarians were more open to new experiences and less food neophobic, they were not more restrained than omnivores. Rather semi-vegetarians; those who restricted only red meat from their diet, and flexitarians; those who occasionally eat red meat, were significantly more restrained than omnivores. Whereas food choices of semi-vegetarians and flexitarians were motivated by weight control, vegetarians and pesco-vegetarians’ food choices were motivated by ethical concerns. By focusing specifically on semi-vegetarian and flexitarian subgroups, more effective approaches can be developed to ensure that their concerns about weight loss do not lead to unhealthful or disordered eating patterns.”