Dietary Restraint: Far Too Complex to Dismiss as a Fallacy

In her commentary Dietary Restraint Fallacy, Jansen argues that the theory linking dietary restraint to binge eating and weight gain can be dismissed as a "fallacy." This conclusion is largely drawn from Grilo and Pittman, who found that rigid restraint was associated with reduced binge frequency and greater weight loss. We contend that dietary restraint remains a profoundly complex and unsettled issue, with implications for weight regain and eating disorder prevention. Importantly, the three Commentaries on Grilo and Pittman were invited simultaneously. Readers encountering only one of them may not realize that these papers were designed to present contrasting viewpoints. In this Commentary, we stress why restraint theory cannot be dismissed wholesale, highlight the need for integration between obesity and eating disorders fields, and emphasize that premature simplifications risk distorting both scientific understanding and clinical practice.