Studies were reviewed under the categories of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and mixed or miscellaneous samples, with more studies falling into the last category than in the first two. Recent findings have continued to show that weight suppression is related to a wide variety of biological and behavioral features in both diagnosed and sub-clinical samples. Weight suppression promotes weight gain which is anathema to individuals with eating disorders, putting them in a biobehavioral bind that appears to prolong their disorder. Priorities for future research are to understand the mechanisms underlying the effects of weight suppression, evaluate new ways of defining weight suppression, and study its implications for modifying treatment.

Body dissatisfaction, the negative subjective evaluation of one's body, is associated with many negative psychological and physical health consequences. One conceptualization of body dissatisfaction includes an experience of discrepancy between perceived actual and ideal body shapes. This paper reviews the literature on three facets of body dissatisfaction from the framework of self-discrepancy theory: perceptions of current weight, ideal body weight, and the relative importance of conforming to ideals. We review components of body dissatisfaction among healthy individuals and eating-disordered individuals. We also address the conceptualization's relationship among body dissatisfaction, weight history, and dieting to expand the impact of body dissatisfaction research and to provide more information on the nature and treatment of eating disorders.

Many racial and ethnic minority groups (minorities) are disproportionately affected by overweight and obesity; however, minorities are often under-represented in clinical trials of behavioural weight loss (BWL) treatment, potentially limiting the generalizability of these trials' conclusions. Interventions involving technology may be particularly well suited to overcoming the barriers to minority enrollment in BWL trials, such as demanding or unpredictable work schedules, caregiving responsibilities and travel burdens. Thus, this systematic review aimed to describe minority enrollment in trials utilizing technology in interventions, as well as to identify which form(s) of technology yield the highest minority enrollment. Results indicated relatively low enrollment of minorities. Trials integrating smartphone use exhibited significantly greater racial minority enrollment than trials that did not; trials with both smartphone and in-person components exhibited the highest racial minority enrollment. This review is the first to explore how the inclusion of technology in BWL trials relates to minority enrollment and can help address the need to improve minority enrollment in weight loss research.

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Despite common wisdom that reducing alcohol intake will facilitate weight loss, little research has examined whether participants in behavioral weight loss treatments actually decrease their alcohol intake, or whether reduced alcohol intake relates to weight loss outcomes in this context. This study examined the relationship of alcohol use to energy intake excluding alcohol and to weight in 283 overweight and obese adults participating in a 26-session behavioral weight loss treatment. The majority of participants consumed low to moderate levels of alcohol at baseline. Participants who consumed alcohol at baseline meaningfully reduced their alcohol intake by end-of-treatment. Alcohol use did not relate to weight at baseline or end-of-treatment when controlling for relevant demographic variables, and change in alcohol use was unrelated to weight change in the overall sample during treatment. However, end-of-treatment alcohol intake did relate to end-of-treatment energy intake excluding alcohol. In addition, behavioral impulsivity and change in alcohol intake interacted to predict weight loss, such that decreases in alcohol intake were associated with greater percent weight loss at end-of-treatment for participants with higher levels of impulsivity. Alcohol consumption may lead to overeating episodes, and highly impulsive individuals may be at risk for increased energy intake during or after episodes of drinking. Therefore, the recommendation to reduce alcohol intake in the context of behavioral weight loss treatment seems warranted, particularly for individuals with high levels of impulsivity.

Objective Weight suppression (WS) and body mass index (BMI) have predicted weight change in individuals with eating disorders, but the interaction between these variables is understudied. Furthermore, WS is usually measured as absolute WS—the numeric difference between current weight and highest past weight—overlooking the potentially important influence of how much a person weighed at their highest historical weight. Method The current study investigated the independent and interacting effects of BMI and two measures of WS at admission on residential treatment weight change. WS measures included absolute WS and the relative WS index, the percentage of total body weight lost from highest past weight. Participants were women with anorexia nervosa (n = 357) or bulimia nervosa (n = 293) who provided complete data, 87% of the eligible treatment sample. Results In both diagnostic subsamples, BMI, absolute WS, and the relative WS index all significantly predicted weight change. The interaction between BMI and WS predicted weight change, but only when the relative WS index was used. Discussion Results highlight the potential importance of considering an individual's weight and weight history when predicting their treatment weight change and support the importance of utilizing both methods of calculating WS in future research.

Objectives Eating-related disinhibition (i.e. a tendency to overeat in response to various stimuli) is associated with weight gain and poorer long-term weight loss success. Theoretically, experiential avoidance (i.e., the desire or attempts to avoid uncomfortable internal experiences), may predispose individuals to developing negative reinforcement eating expectancies (i.e., the belief that eating will help to mitigate distress), which in turn promote disinhibition. Such relationships are consistent with an acquired preparedness model, which posits that dispositions influence learning and subsequent behavior. Drawing from this framework, the current study represents the first investigation of relations between negative reinforcement eating expectancies, experiential avoidance (both general and food-specific) and disinhibited eating. In particular, the mediating role of negative reinforcement eating expectancies in the relation between experiential avoidance and disinhibited eating was examined. Method Participants (N = 107) were overweight and obese individuals presenting for behavioral weight loss treatment who completed measures of general and food-related experiential avoidance, negative reinforcement eating expectancies, and disinhibition. Results Experiential avoidance and negative reinforcement eating expectancies significantly related to disinhibition. Furthermore, the relation between experiential avoidance and disinhibition was mediated by negative reinforcement eating expectancies. Discussion The current study supports an acquired preparedness model for disinhibition, such that the relation between experiential avoidance and disinhibition is accounted for by expectations that eating will alleviate distress. Findings highlight the potential role of eating expectancies in models accounting for obesity risk, and identify negative reinforcement eating expectancies as a potential treatment target for reducing disinhibition.

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