Oral Presentation Australian & New Zealand Obesity Society 2014 Annual Scientific Meeting

Intuitive eating: is a shift away from dieting the answer to weight management? (#32)

Caroline Horwath 1
  1. University of Otago, Dunedin, OTAGO, New Zealand

 Traditional diets that restrict energy to induce weight loss typically show patterns of weight regain, and can promote increased food preoccupation, loss of control and overeating.  Some studies suggest that dieting may be associated with subsequent weight gain.  Eating in response to hunger and satiety signals, termed intuitive eating, has been promoted as an alternative to deliberate energy restriction.  Intuitive eating is a key recommendation of the non-dieting and Health at Every Size approaches, which advocate a shift in focus away from body weight to the improvement of health behaviours and wellbeing.  An overview of research in this area will be presented, including results from Caroline’s research group at the University at Otago.