title: To eat or not to eat red meat. A closer look at the relationship between restrained eating and vegetarianism in college females.
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.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, The College of William & Mary, P.O. Box 8795, Williamsburg, VA 23185-8795, USA. caforestell@wm.edu
authors.forename: Catherine A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Forestell
authors.forename: Andrea M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Spaeth
authors.forename: Stephanie A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Kane
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002755:Choice Behavior; D004032:Diet; D004034:Diet Surveys; D014676:Diet, Vegetarian / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004435:Eating; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008460:Meat; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015431:Weight Loss; D055815:Young Adult