Heatherton Will Leave This Fall

Assistant Professor of Psychology Todd F. Heatherton tortures dieters in the name of science.

Take the following scene from one of Heatherton's experiments Sad, mournful music fills the air. Several gallons of delicious Baskin Robbins ice cream sit on the table, ready to be devoured.

Heatherton tells the unsuspecting Harvard undergraduate who is the experiment's subject that in ten minutes she will be speaking in front of large crowd. Heatherton then leaves the students in the room to face the tempting ice cream.

This is one of several experiments Heatherton has used at Harvard as part of a ten-year study of students' eating habits. From the study, Heatherton has concluded that there are two types of people that are unable to regulate their eating properly.

One type are the "ones who feel like they've blown their diets and say `what the heck' to eating a large amount of food," says Heatherton, the popular Psychology 1 teacher who will leave the University for Dartmouth atthe end of the year please see related sotry,page1).

Heatherton's studies have concluded that morethan 70 percent of Harvard women want to lose atleast ten pounds.

"This figure has actually been dropping offover the past ten years," Heatherton says. "Also,more than half of students are actively on somesort of diet."

Heatherton says students here may not becompletely representative of the generalpopulation because "a Harvard students tends to bea perfectionist which spills over into eatingpatterns."

And because of heightened academic and socialpressures, youth and generally high socio-economicstatus, Harvard undergraduates are at high risk ofhaving eating disorders, Heatherton says.

Roughly 20 percent of college women haveserious eating problems, the full-figuredHeatherton says. These problems include bingeeating, intense preoccupation with food,over-exercising, skipping meals and vomiting.

"My interest has really been with what causesthe binge eating," Heatherton says.

To put his theories to the test, Heathertonconducted what he calls a taste perception study.Two groups of undergraduates were used in theexperiment.

In the first group, which was used as acontrol, students were placed individually inrooms with several gallons of Baskin Robbins icecream.

With this group, Heatherton found logicalresults: dieters tended to eat less ice cream andnon-dieters tended to eat more.

In the second experimental group, Heathertonfed each subject what he says was "a rich, huge,sixteen ounce double thick chocolate milkshake,"He then placed the undergraduates in front oflarge amounts of ice cream.

Heatherton's subjects produced the exactopposite results of the first experiment. Dieterswho had eaten the milkshake reasoned that sincethey had already broken their diets, there wasnothing wrong with eating of lots of ice cream,Heatherton says.

"The non-dieters actually ate less than thedieters," Heatherton says. "The non-dietersstopped eating because they were full. But thedieters ate a lot more--we call it the 'what thehell effect.'"

Heatherton has also observed that when peopleare upset they tend to break their diets.

"People try to comfort themselves when they arein an upset mood--some shop, some drink, someeat," he says.

Only certain types of stress lead to bingeeating. Fear, for example, does not trigger bingeeating. Heatherton says.

To prove that point, Heatherton told subjectsthat they would undergo electric shock afterspending 20 minutes in front of mass quantities ofice cream. Fear of electric shock had no effect,Heaterton found, and eating patterns remainedconsistent with the control group.

But when students' self-esteem was threatened,instead of their personal safety, dieters tendedto binge.

"Experiences where students' self-esteem wasthreatened--such as doing poorly on an exam,getting bad feedback from a TF, feeling bad afteran MCAT--caused dieters to binge," Heathertonsays. "Distress interferes with people's abilityto self-regulate their behavior."

Heatherton maintains that his theoriesregarding self-regulation can be applied to otherhabits and behavioral patterns as well.

"Current society is caught with an inability tocontrol drug use, anger, molesting children,spending," Heatherton says. "A large part of theproblem is that society is not behaving inmoderation. We feel that we have to be perfect orwe might as well not try at all."

Heatherton recently completed a book with thehelp of two Case Western University professors,which will be published in the fall.

The book, Losing Control: Failures of SelfRegulation, explores self-regulating failuresas applied to smoking, studying and drinking, aswell as eating.

"It is ironic that people will engage inbehavior that they are specifically trying not todo," Heatherton says.

"The issue of self-control failure isfundamental to our society. It is the cause of ourmost basic problems. Why do people murder? Why dothey engage in risky sex?

Heatherton's studies have concluded that morethan 70 percent of Harvard women want to lose atleast ten pounds.

"This figure has actually been dropping offover the past ten years," Heatherton says. "Also,more than half of students are actively on somesort of diet."

Heatherton says students here may not becompletely representative of the generalpopulation because "a Harvard students tends to bea perfectionist which spills over into eatingpatterns."

And because of heightened academic and socialpressures, youth and generally high socio-economicstatus, Harvard undergraduates are at high risk ofhaving eating disorders, Heatherton says.

Roughly 20 percent of college women haveserious eating problems, the full-figuredHeatherton says. These problems include bingeeating, intense preoccupation with food,over-exercising, skipping meals and vomiting.

"My interest has really been with what causesthe binge eating," Heatherton says.

To put his theories to the test, Heathertonconducted what he calls a taste perception study.Two groups of undergraduates were used in theexperiment.

In the first group, which was used as acontrol, students were placed individually inrooms with several gallons of Baskin Robbins icecream.

With this group, Heatherton found logicalresults: dieters tended to eat less ice cream andnon-dieters tended to eat more.

In the second experimental group, Heathertonfed each subject what he says was "a rich, huge,sixteen ounce double thick chocolate milkshake,"He then placed the undergraduates in front oflarge amounts of ice cream.

Heatherton's subjects produced the exactopposite results of the first experiment. Dieterswho had eaten the milkshake reasoned that sincethey had already broken their diets, there wasnothing wrong with eating of lots of ice cream,Heatherton says.

"The non-dieters actually ate less than thedieters," Heatherton says. "The non-dietersstopped eating because they were full. But thedieters ate a lot more--we call it the 'what thehell effect.'"

Heatherton has also observed that when peopleare upset they tend to break their diets.

"People try to comfort themselves when they arein an upset mood--some shop, some drink, someeat," he says.

Only certain types of stress lead to bingeeating. Fear, for example, does not trigger bingeeating. Heatherton says.

To prove that point, Heatherton told subjectsthat they would undergo electric shock afterspending 20 minutes in front of mass quantities ofice cream. Fear of electric shock had no effect,Heaterton found, and eating patterns remainedconsistent with the control group.

But when students' self-esteem was threatened,instead of their personal safety, dieters tendedto binge.

"Experiences where students' self-esteem wasthreatened--such as doing poorly on an exam,getting bad feedback from a TF, feeling bad afteran MCAT--caused dieters to binge," Heathertonsays. "Distress interferes with people's abilityto self-regulate their behavior."

Heatherton maintains that his theoriesregarding self-regulation can be applied to otherhabits and behavioral patterns as well.

"Current society is caught with an inability tocontrol drug use, anger, molesting children,spending," Heatherton says. "A large part of theproblem is that society is not behaving inmoderation. We feel that we have to be perfect orwe might as well not try at all."

Heatherton recently completed a book with thehelp of two Case Western University professors,which will be published in the fall.

The book, Losing Control: Failures of SelfRegulation, explores self-regulating failuresas applied to smoking, studying and drinking, aswell as eating.

"It is ironic that people will engage inbehavior that they are specifically trying not todo," Heatherton says.

"The issue of self-control failure isfundamental to our society. It is the cause of ourmost basic problems. Why do people murder? Why dothey engage in risky sex?