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Influence of dietary macronutrient composition on eating behaviour and self-perception in young women undergoing weight management

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Abstract

The control of eating behaviours such as hunger and disinhibition is problematic for women during weight management. Higher-protein (HP) diets have been shown to promote greater weight reduction than higher-carbohydrate (HC) diets, but their impact on eating behaviours is relatively unexplored. This study compared two iso-energetically restricted (5,600 kJ/day) diets differing in protein (HP: 32 %, HC: 20 %) and carbohydrate (HP: 41 %, HC: 58 %) on appetite ratings, restraint, disinhibition, perceived hunger and binge eating in 36 (HP: n = 21, HC: n = 15) young (18–25 years), healthy women with BMI ≥27.5 kg/m2 who completed a 12-month clinical weight management trial. Dietary compliance and self-worth were also assessed. Results showed that both diets induced improvements in restraint and disinhibition from baseline (p < 0.01), with HP participants losing a non-significantly greater amount of weight than HC participants (HP: 9.6 ± 2.6, HC: 4.1 ± 1.4 kg, p = 0.07). Despite reasonable compliance, no significant appetite and eating behaviour differences were observed between the diets. Reduction in disinhibition (regardless of diet) significantly predicted weight loss (β = 0.574, p < 0.001) and self-worth improvement (β = −0.463, p = 0.002), while HP intake predicted greater self-worth change (β = −0.371, p = 0.011). This study demonstrates that young women can improve restraint and disinhibition on a weight management programme, with the reduction in disinhibition shown to be a key predictor of weight loss. HP intake may offer some advantage for increasing self-worth but not eating behaviours. As HP diets are popular, these findings warrant confirmation in a larger sample.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Ms. Zahra Munas for her clinical dietetic contribution to the study. This study was supported by a grant from Meat and Livestock Australia.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no other conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Discipline of Exercise and Sport Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, P.O. Box 170, Lidcombe, NSW, 1825, Australia

    Hoi Lun Cheng, Hayley Griffin, Bri-Ellen Claes, Kieron Rooney & Helen O’Connor

  2. Department of Statistics, Faculty of Science, Macquarie University, Macquarie, NSW, 2109, Australia

    Peter Petocz

  3. Academic Department of Adolescent Medicine, Children’s Hospital Westmead, Locked Bag 4001, Westmead, NSW, 2145, Australia

    Katharine Steinbeck

Authors
  1. Hoi Lun Cheng
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  2. Hayley Griffin
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  3. Bri-Ellen Claes
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  4. Peter Petocz
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  5. Katharine Steinbeck
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  6. Kieron Rooney
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  7. Helen O’Connor
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Correspondence to Helen O’Connor.

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Cheng, H.L., Griffin, H., Claes, BE. et al. Influence of dietary macronutrient composition on eating behaviour and self-perception in young women undergoing weight management. Eat Weight Disord 19, 241–247 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-014-0110-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-014-0110-y

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