Episodic memory differences in individuals with restrictive eating patterns

Recent research has identified a relationship between episodic memory and appetite, suggesting that poor episodic memory results in overconsumption. Despite support for this relationship in healthy and overweight populations, there have been no studies, to our knowledge, that have investigated a role for episodic memory in populations that under eat (restrictive eaters). Moreover, previous studies in this area have not examined the cognitive and environmental factors that could influence episodic memory strength and therefore serve as a mediator for eating behavior. Here, we investigated the effect of both pre-existing and experimentally induced restrictive mindsets on episodic memory for food and non-food items. Pre-existing restrictive eaters showed a memory bias for food-related items over non-food related items. This bias was amplified when a restrictive mindset was also experimentally induced. These findings may provide insight into how exposure to diet and weight-related information in restrictive eaters influences maladaptive eating.