Evaluation of psychological explanations for obesity
Strengths
- Disinhibition is a strong argument for weight gain leading to obesity in cultures where there is a high daily number of overeating opportunities from fast food outlets, such as burger stalls and pizza restaurants
- Psychological explanations for obesity have been used to successfully develop cognitive behavioural therapy for binge-eating and obesity (Mesarič et al, 2023)
Weaknesses
- Restraint theory cannot explain those who succeed in attaining weight loss through restrained eating or how individuals with anorexia nervosa experience huge weight losses through restraint
- Much of the data comes from self-report questionnaires and daily eating diaries which are subject to a social desirability bias which would lower the validity of the findings
Link to Approaches:
Psychological explanations for obesity take a cognitive approach as they are focusing mainly on the internal mental processes of restraint and disinhibition, such as lowered mood and feelings of failure.
However, the boundary model is a good example of combining biological and cognitive factors to explain eating behaviour and obesity, as the model explains the relationship between the physical boundaries of hunger and satiety and cognitive control of eating.