Dieting and the development of eating disorders in obese women: results of a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Some investigators fear that dieting may precipitate binge eating and other adverse behavioral consequences.

Objective: The objective of the study was to examine whether dieting would elicit binge eating and mood disturbance in individuals free of these complications before treatment.

Design: A total of 123 obese women were randomly assigned to 1) a 1000 kcal/d diet that included 4 servings/d of a liquid meal replacement (MR); 2) a 1200-1500 kcal/d balanced deficit diet (BDD) of conventional foods; or 3) a nondieting (ND) approach that discouraged energy restriction.