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Appetite. 2012 Feb;58(1):319-25. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2011.10.015. Epub 2011 Nov 2.

To eat or not to eat red meat. A closer look at the relationship between restrained eating and vegetarianism in college females.

Author information

  • 1Psychology Department, The College of William & Mary, P.O. Box 8795, Williamsburg, VA 23185-8795, USA. caforestell@wm.edu

Abstract

Previous research has suggested that vegetarianism may serve as a mask for restrained eating. The purpose of this study was to compare the dietary habits and lifestyle behaviors of vegetarians (n=55), pesco-vegetarians (n=28), semi-vegetarians (n=29), and flexitarians (n=37), to omnivores (n=91), who do not restrict animal products from their diets. A convenience sample of college-age females completed questionnaires about their eating habits, food choice motivations, and personality characteristics. Results indicated that while vegetarians and pesco-vegetarians were more open to new experiences and less food neophobic, they were not more restrained than omnivores. Rather semi-vegetarians; those who restricted only red meat from their diet, and flexitarians; those who occasionally eat red meat, were significantly more restrained than omnivores. Whereas food choices of semi-vegetarians and flexitarians were motivated by weight control, vegetarians and pesco-vegetarians' food choices were motivated by ethical concerns. By focusing specifically on semi-vegetarian and flexitarian subgroups, more effective approaches can be developed to ensure that their concerns about weight loss do not lead to unhealthful or disordered eating patterns.

PMID:
22079892
DOI:
10.1016/j.appet.2011.10.015
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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