It is rare to find an individual who has not at some point been unhappy with his or her body. Who hasn't stood in front of the mirror and critiqued his or her appearance? It is becoming commonplace to see individuals comparing nutrition labels in the grocery store and opting for the low-fat, no-fat options. Commercials for weight loss products and programs abound. Weight is obviously on the collective mind of the public.
Given that the world is in the throes of an obesity epidemic (World Health Organization, 2000), this increased attention to weight loss and regulation is not surprising. Add to this the increases in weight- related morbidity and mortality, and the fact that at least half the population is on a diet at any given time, and one would think that the rates of obesity and overweight should be stabilizing and slowly decreasing.
Yet this is not the case. Despite the frequency of dieting in the general population and the knowledge that overweight and obesity are accompanied by health problems, weight is increasing across the globe. This speaks to the difficulty most humans have in regulating their weight. Health professionals have developed any number of behavioral weight-loss programs, and though many are effective in the short term, long-term weight loss and maintenance are difficult (e.g., Mann et al., 2007).
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What To Eat? Goal-Conflict Theory and Weight Maintenance
