Ecological contingencies in women's calorie regulation psychology: A life history approach

• Experimentally examined effects of harshness on women's calorie regulation.
• As predicted, harshness cues influenced women differently depending on development.
• Women from low SES environments respond by increased desire for food.
• Women from high SES environments respond by decreased desire for food.
• Results provide new insights into women's weight regulation psychology.

We used insights from life history theory and the critical fat hypothesis to explore how environmental harshness influences women's food and weight regulation psychology. As predicted by our theoretical model, women who grew up in poorer, more unpredictable environments responded to harshness cues in their adult environments by exhibiting a greater desire for food (Studies 1 and 2) and a diminished concern with calorie restriction and weight loss (Study 3). In sharp contrast, women who grew up in more predictable, wealthier environments responded to these cues by exhibiting a diminished desire for food and increased concern with calorie restriction and weight loss. This research provides novel insights into the role that local environmental factors play in women's food and weight regulation psychology.