Could the resource depletion model of self‐control help the field to better understand momentary processes that lead to binge eating?

Binge eating, characterized by overeating while experiencing a sense of loss of control, affects 5– 10% of people and is associated with adverse health outcomes, including excess weight gain and the development of full-syndrome eating disorders. There is emerging interest in interventions targeting momentary antecedents of binge eating. Such interventions are promising, but their refinement could be informed by an improved understanding of momentary processes that promote binge eating. Currently there are several overarching models that seek to explain binge eating. Restraint theory (which posits that binge eating results from lapses in ongoing attempts to reduce energy intake for weight control purposes) and affect regulation theories (which suggest that binge eating is a maladaptive strategy for coping with negative affect) comprise the most well-known contemporary theories of binge eating. Independent tests of these theories using experimental and ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methodologies indicate that both restraint and negative affect often act as momentary antecedents to binge eating. One theory involving affect regulation processes, escape theory, more specifically proposes that binge eating represents a motivated attempt to escape from selfawareness. In this framework, an individual who becomes overwhelmed by awareness of his/her perceived shortcomings (e.g., failure to achieve thin ideal, comply with diet goals) and subsequently experiences negative affect (e.g., anxiety or depression) seeks to escape to a lower level of selfawareness. This state thought to include a narrowed cognitive focus which is associated with several features that may promote binge eating, including decreased inhibitions and a focus on immediate, concrete experiences (e.g., taste of food) versus long-term consequences (e.g., weight gain). Although independent tests of these models have produced promising results, our understanding of how and why restraintand affect-related factors elicit binge eating is incomplete. Further, there is not a comprehensive framework that provides a clear understanding of why engaging in restraint or experiencing negative affect do not invariably result in binge eating. We propose a theoretical framework that may be used to understand the momentary occurrence of binge eating behavior, namely the resource depletion model. This model complements existing theories of binge eating and has proved useful in explaining eating behavior in normative samples, yet its applicability to binge eating has not been studied. Future research testing whether and how resource depletion may predict binge eating behavior could Accepted 29 September 2016 †Katie A. Loth and Andrea B. Goldschmidt contributed equally to this work. *Correspondence to: K. A. Loth; E-mail: kloth@umn.edu 1 Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 2 Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown Alpert Medical School/The Miriam Hospital, Weight Control and Diabetes, Research Center Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 3 Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, Fargo, North Dakota 4 Division of Epidemiology and Community Health School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minnesota 5 Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota Published online 21 October 2016 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI: 10.1002/eat.22641 VC 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.