Suchergebnisse

The obesity epidemic has provoked considerable concern along with suggestions and demands for corrective measures. After surveying the basic features of the epidemic, we turn our attention to self‐regulation, which is at the heart of most of the proposed solutions to the epidemic. Information, incentives, and most other tactics to get people to eat less and exercise more all rely on self‐regulatory processes. More attention should be paid to the distinction between interventions that depend on individual self‐regulation and interventions that bypass self‐regulation. A detailed examination of self‐regulatory and legislative regulatory alternatives, along with a detailed examination of the causes of the epidemic, leads to the conclusion that we should adopt a cautious and even skeptical approach to intervention. We scrutinize some of the principal proposed solutions to the obesity problem,  few if any of which inspire optimism. The severity of the problem does not justify implementing unproven interventions in the absence of reliable evidence of their effectiveness.

A regulatory model of consumption is outlined, with an emphasis on upper and lower regulatory limits which govern consumption. We argue that aversive physiological symptoms counteract failure to maintain consumption within regulatory limits, but that consumption within these limits is affected by various situational and cognitive factors. This model is applied to the consumption of food, alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine, with particular attention to the distinctive features of regulation that pertain to each. Implications are derived regarding the multiple meanings of "excessive"and "insufficient" consumption in this framework. We also discuss the relative (perceived) contributions of physiological and "personal" mechanisms of regulatory control and ensuing effects of self-perception and attribution. Concluding remarks concern the complexities of multiple substance use.

First published in 1986, this book looks at physical appearance as a determinant of personality and social behavior. There is no doubt that appearance has some impact on the way one is perceived and treated; and presumably, owing to the socially reflected nature of the self, personality likewise will be affected by appearance

1. Introduction -- 2. A Theory of Normal Eating -- 3. Research Design, Methodology and Ethics -- 4. Modeling of Food Intake -- 5. Modeling of Food Choice -- 6. Consumption Stereotypes and Impression Management: Food Intake -- 7. Consumption Stereotypes and Impression Management: Food Choice -- 8. A Theory of Normal Eating – Reprise and Non-Social Examples -- 9. Social Comparison -- 10. What Happens When We Overeat? -- 11. Social Facilitation -- 12. Awareness of Social Cues -- 13. Effects of Social Eating -- 14. Concluding Remarks