The role of perfectionism and excessive commitment to exercise in explaining dietary restraint: replication and extension

Abstract

The etiological complexity of the eating disorders has incited researchers to examine how personality characteristics and other variables operate jointly in the development of deviant eating patterns.

Objective: This study investigated the independent, interactive, and indirect prediction of dietary restraint by perfectionism and excessive commitment to exercise.

Method: Multiple regression analyses designed to test moderating and mediating models were conducted on a sample of female university students (n = 269).

Results: Several dimensions of perfectionism, as well as excessive commitment to exercise, significantly and independently predicted dietary restraint in these women. There was no evidence for an interaction effect. Mediation analyses suggested that for selected dimensions of perfectionism, the direct relationship between perfectionism and dietary restraint is partially explained by excessive commitment to exercise.

Discussion: Interventions aimed at challenging perfectionistic standards in the context of dieting need to address not only one's self-standards, but one's perceptions of standards held by others. The mediating role of excessive exercise commitment pinpoints this variable as an alternative intervention target in the prevention of excessive dieting.