Relationship between Hedonic Hungers with

Eat Control in Women Adolescents

Naliya Maulany

, Anggita Dian Cahyani

Psychology Department, Faculty of Humanities, Bina Nusantara University, Jakarta, Indonesia 11480

Keyword: Adolescent Girls, Hedonic Hunger, Restrained Eating.

Abstract: The objective of this research is to determine whether there is a relationship between hedonic hunger and

restrained eating among adolescent girls. The research method used in this study is quantitative correlational

method. The research sample consisted of 181 respondents, ranged in age from 15 to 18. Data were analyzed

using Pearson correlation and the results showed there is no significant relationship between hedonic hunger

and restrained eating (p >0,005). In summary, this study did not find significant correlation between hedonic

hungers and restrained eating among adolescent girls.

1 INTRODUCTION

Adolescence is a transition from childhood to

adulthood. At this time, adolescents are very

concerned about appearance and begin to build

judgments about their bodies (Santrock, 2015). It is

very important for adolescents to start a healthy

lifestyle such as forming attitudes and habits,

including eating habits seeing quite high rates of

obesity in adolescents. According to the Organization

for Economic Co-operation and Development

(OECD, 2017), the level of obesity in adolescents

over 15 years in Indonesia reaches 5.7%. According

to the Basic Health Research (RI, 2013) cases of

obesity in adolescents aged 16-18 years the highest in

Indonesia is in DKI Jakarta as much as 4.2%. This

case of obesity occurs due to excess intake of food

and energy-rich drinks, rich in saturated fats, added

sugar and salt, but lack of nutritious food intakes such

as vegetables, fruits and lack of exercise. In

Indonesia, the proportion of people aged over 10

years tends to consume fatty foods, cholesterol, and

fried foods by 40.7%, consumption of salty foods by

26.2% and consumption of sweet foods by 53.1%.

Furthermore, the percentage of vegetable and fruit

consumption less consumption behavior is 93.5%

(RI, 2013).

When entering adolescence, women experience a

greater increase in body fat than men who make their

bodies more distant from their ideal body shape

(Brooks-Gunn & Paikoff in (Santrock, 2015)).

According to (Mallick, Ray, & Mukhopadhyay,

2014), in his research revealed many studies have

found that adolescent girls are interested in losing

weight and more than 40% have tried to lose weight

because of concerns about their weight. The survey

conducted by Survey Self Magazine (2015) also

states that 67% of women go on a diet because they

believe weight affects happiness. (Rema, 2012), also

conducted an online survey of 153 female

respondents who stated 47% claimed to have taken a

low carb diet to lose weight because the dieter could

see the results instantly (4.5kg-9kg in two weeks ). In

a survey conducted by (Lubis, 2016), it was stated

that 68% of respondents were even willing to pay

more to get food that was suitable for their diet.

Various kinds of dietary patterns become a solution

to maintain ideal body weight, reduce body weight to

be ideal and maintain general body health.

According to Wade (Palinski-Wade, 2013) diet is

an effort to lose weight. Diets include a variety of

behavioral patterns, from choosing foods that are

good for health to very strict restrictions on calorie

consumption (Prima & Sari, 2013). This calorie-

limiting behavior is called restrained eating. In

general, eating control is defined as an effort to

intentionally limit food intake for the purpose of

weight control. Over the years, Herman and Polivy

have defined different terms for eating control, such

as eating control is an attempt by a person to have a

bodyweight below his weight. Eating control is a

"dietary limit" determined by someone cognitively to

Maulany, N. and Cahyani, A.

Relationship between Hedonic Hungers with Eat Control in Women Adolescents.

DOI: 10.5220/0010009000002917

In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Social Sciences, Laws, Arts and Humanities (BINUS-JIC 2018), pages 405-411

ISBN: 978-989-758-515-9

405

limit food intake, which limits food intake is precisely

referring to failure in the diet.

According to Polivy, Herman and Wash, aspects

of the diet include external, emotional and restraint.

In dieting, efforts to limit food intake may be an

indicator of great vulnerability to weight gain in the

future. In the study of Papies (Papies, 2012), stated in

Western society, only a few diets can reduce their

weight in the long run. Papies revealed that living in

an obesogenic environment is an influential factor in

weight management and the development of obesity

in society because living in that environment is the

cause of unhealthy eating patterns and activities. The

obesogenic environment is as an influence of the

surrounding environment, opportunity, or living

conditions that cause obesity in individuals and

populations. As Wahyuningsih research, said that

adolescents today are more exposed to chemicals than

teenagers in ancient times. These chemicals not only

come from polluted environments, but also from

preservatives, dyes, and food and beverage

seasonings. Most obesity occurs because of the

difficulty to maintain health and gain weight due to

the urge to eat which not only aims to replenish

energy but with the availability of delicious foods

(palatable food) and a strong urge to consume them.

Considering living in an obesogenic environment,

individuals tend to think about or want delicious food

at any time. Worse, this situation does not limit the

amount of food available, which triggers a hedonic

hunger (Lowe & Butryn, 2007).

According to Lowe & Burtyn (Lowe & Butryn,

2007), hedonic hunger is an urge to consume food

based on things beyond meeting calorie needs.

Another definition of hedonic hunger is the

motivation to consume delicious food when the body

does not lack energy. The most appropriate

population to measure the level of hedonic hunger is

a population of good nutritional levels (well-

nourished population), where the availability of

abundant food, especially high-calorie foods so that

consuming these foods is excessively based on the

state of hedonic hunger rather than homeostatic

hunger. Homeostatic hunger is where an individual

experiences a significant lack of energy and in an

acute state requires calories. Whereas individuals

who think hard about eating and lack of need for

calories can be said to be in a state of hedonic hunger.

Lowe & Burtyn (Lowe & Butryn, 2007) say in

homeostatic needs, food pleasure is assumed to be

irrelevant to the need to fulfill energy and satiety.

While in hedonic hunger, satiety has a relatively small

role in the enjoyment of food (when food is

consumed, the pleasure of eating does not go down,

even almost as good as when hungry). Therefore, the

availability and enjoyment of food in the surrounding

environment has a big influence on whether these

foods will be desired and consumed.

Hedonic hunger is not something that can be

measured with the naked eye, therefore Lowe made a

measuring tool to measure the level of hedonic

hunger, namely The Power of Food Scale (PFS).

Lowe said that measurements on The Power of Food

Scale are designed to measure the drive, thoughts, and

even an individual's obsession with eating food and

thinking about food. The Power of Food Scale

assesses behavioral responses by using items such as,

"I get more pleasure from food than other things I do"

or "just before I taste my favorite food, I feel a great

wait".

The author conducted an informal interview

whose questions were based on The Power of Food

Scale to a group of female students (8 students) in

private high schools in South Jakarta. From the

interviews, their hedonic hunger level is quite large.

The main cause is because they live in an obesogenic

environment, so the temptation and opportunities to

eat outside the main food (snacking) are high. "I am

not strongest of the satay smell, not hungry so

hungry." And responded by his friend. "Ah, you say

that I'm hungry. After that, bro, for example, see the

nugget banana carts, drooling or not. Gorniak,

Mardas, and Walkowiak (Przyslawski, Stelmach,

Grygiel-Gorniak, Mardas, & Walkowiak, 2011), that

adolescent girls really like snack foods and consume

them besides consuming main food. In addition, they

admit that they have more than enough allowance so

they can buy these foods easily. One of them said,

"For students, it's big. The thing is, the monthly fee is

the same as the separate allowance. "And others

respond to the same thing.

After conducting an interview about hedonic

hunger, the authors continued the interview about

diet, which aims to see their level of food control.

According to Lowe and Thomas (2007), individuals

who control eating (restrained eaters) are divided into

three categories, namely 1. Individuals who carry out

weight suppressor intentionally (weight suppressor),

2. Those who are currently on a diet (current dieters),

3. Those who are repeatedly involved in the diet cycle

and overeating in the past (frequent dieters and

overeaters). Two (current dieters and frequent dieters)

from the three categories of individuals who control

the eating of the writer found on respondents. Some

were on a diet, some had gone on a diet but failed and

one of them had never been on a diet but was

interested in trying. The result, for those who have

already, they feel the thing that becomes a failure in

BINUS-JIC 2018 - BINUS Joint International Conference

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the diet is an attempt to limit the intake of the food

itself. "If I fit keto cannot eat rice, the first week is

strong. The second week was not strong enough to

buy a food bowl because KFC smelled food bowl

through smell, it failed. The more detained, the more

it fails, because once you can't stand it, it explodes

like that, "said one of them. There are also those who

answer, “Yes, I did too, when the diet promised, cheat

meal, so cheat day was over. I'll promise again, cheat

day again, regret again, and promise again. Just

continue like that. ”According to Herman and Polivy,

this is known as what the hell effect, which is a cycle

that is felt when someone enjoys what is done, then

regrets what has been done, and is repeated again in

the days of Papies and Aarts. Another thing that

becomes a failure in dieting and losing weight for

respondents is holding back for snacks at school. "For

me, as long as the food is not in front of my eyes, it's

not salivating. If you see your eyes in a canteen, you

are directly salivating. Buyar, "said one of them. In

addition, they claimed not to pay attention to the

calories and ingredients present in these foods. The

author draws the assumption that this is related to

hedonic hunger, where in fact they do not need calorie

intake but think and feel the need to consume certain

foods. This is in accordance with the opinion of

(Hofmekler, 2007) that diet failure is caused by

several things namely overeating during the day,

eating when not hungry, mistakes in food selection,

lack of adaptation to face environmental changes and

excessive food supply. In addition, according to

Herman & Mack dieters identified by the Restraint

Scale measuring instrument are unsuccessful dieters,

who are more famous for their deviations than for

restraining themselves.

Based on the description above, it can be

concluded that there is a relationship between hedonic

hungers with eating control in adolescent girls.

Therefore, the researchers wanted to see if adolescent

girls have low or high levels of hedonic hunger, then

whether the level of eating control tends to be low or

high, which is related to dietary behavior will go well

or not.

The purpose of this study was to determine the

relationship between hedonic hungers with eating

control in adolescent girls.

2 RESEARCH METHODS

2.1 Sampling Technique

The sampling technique used in this study is the non-

probability sampling technique. According to

(Gravetter & Forzano, 2012), this technique does not

provide equal opportunities for members of the

population selected to be sampled. Researchers use

convenience sampling techniques in the process of

taking samples, namely techniques where

respondents are chosen based on the approach,

availability, accessibility, or other methods

determined by the researcher (Gravetter & Forzano,

2012).

2.2 Research Design

In this study, researchers used a quantitative research

approach. This type of research is based on measuring

variables on individuals to get a score. The score

obtained is usually a numerical value that will

eventually be tested in statistical analysis for

summary and interpretation (Gravetter & Forzano,

2012). The researcher uses a correlational research

design, which is a measurement of two or more

variables to get a set of values for each individual.

These measurements are then examined to identify

patterns of relationships that exist between variables

and to measure the strength of relationships

(Gravetter & Forzano, 2012).

2.3 Research Measuring Instruments

This research uses two measuring instruments. The

first measuring instrument is The Power of Food

Scale by Michael Lowe to measure the hedonic

hunger variable, consisting of 3 dimensions and 21

items. The second measuring tool is the Restraint

Scale of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire by

Tatjana Van Strein to measure food control variables,

consisting of 10 items. Both of these measuring

instruments were adapted by Anggita Dian Cahyani.

2.4 Validity and Reliability of

Measuring Instruments

Validity is how precise a measuring instrument is in

measuring what is measured (Gravetter & Forzano,

2012). In both The Power of Food Scale and the

Restraint Scale of the Dutch Eating Behavior

Questionnaire, researchers used content validity

through expert judgment by Anggita Dian Cahyani.

Reliability is the consistency of the measuring

instrument (Gravetter & Forzano, 2012). The

researcher uses the internal consistency reliability test

which is the consistency between items in the test as

an indication that the test in question has a reliable

measurement function. The Cronbach's Alpha value

on The Power of Food Scale is 0.923 with the number

Relationship between Hedonic Hungers with Eat Control in Women Adolescents

407

of items N = 21 and the Restraint Scale of the Dutch

Eating Behavior Questionnaire is 0.899 with the

number of items N = 10.

2.5 Data Processing Techniques

The study uses correlation analysis techniques to see

if there is a relationship between two variables

(Gravetter & Forzano, 2012). The researcher used

Pearson correlation analysis, which is a hypothesis

test to find out the relationship between the two

variables in this study, the relationship between

hedonic hunger and eating control. The software used

for data processing is SPSS Statistics version 24.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In collecting data, questionnaires were distributed to

181 respondents who were teenage girls aged 15-18

years, at least have been on a diet.

Table 1. Analysis of Research Participants by Age

Age Frequency Percent

15 years old 21 11,6%

16 years old 74 40,9%

17 years old 75 41,4%

18 years old 11 6,1%

Total 181 100%

The age range of respondents in this study was 15

to 18 years. In the table above there are 21

respondents aged 15 years with a percentage of

11.6%, 74 respondents aged 16 years with a

percentage of 40.9%, 75 respondents aged 17 years

with a percentage of 41.4% and 11 respondents aged

18 years with a percentage of 6.1%

Table 2. Analysis Based on Allowances

Amount of Allowance

requenc

Percent

500.000 61 33,7%

500.000-1.000.000 85 47%

More than 1.000.000 35 19,3%

Total 181 100%

The amount of allowance owned/issued by

respondents in one month is divided into three

categories, namely less than 500,000, 500,000-

1,000,000 and more than 1,000,000. In the table

above, there were 61 respondents who had an

allowance of less than 500,000 with a percentage of

33.7%, 85 respondents had an allowance of 500,000-

1,000,000 with a percentage of 47% and 35

respondents had an allowance of more than 1,000,000

with a percentage of 19.3%.

Table 3. Analysis Based on Purpose of Expenditures Cost

Purpose Frequency Percent

Food 108 60%

Shop for goods 45 25%

Treatment 6 3%

Others 22 12%

Total 181 100%

In addition to wanting to know the amount of

allowance issued by respondents in one month,

researchers also want to see what the allowance is

used for. Spending allowance by respondents is

divided into four categories, namely food, shopping

for goods, treatment, and others. In the table above,

there are 108 respondents spending their allowances

on food with a percentage of 60%, 45 respondents

spending their allowances on goods shopping with a

percentage of 25%, 6 respondents spending their

allowances on treatment with a percentage of 3% and

22 respondents spending their allowances on other

things with a percentage of 12%.

Table 4. Analysis Based on Food Selection Preferences

Preference Frequency Percent

Snack / buy food

outside the home

87 48,1%

Eat home cooking 94 51,9%

Total 181 100%

Respondents' food selection preferences are

divided into two, namely snacks / buying food outside

the house or eating home cooking. In the table above,

there are 87 respondents choosing snacks / buying

food outside the home with a percentage of 48.1%

and 94 respondents choosing home cooking with a

percentage of 51.9%.

Table 5. Analysis Based on Food Purchasing Methods

Method Frequency Percent

On the spot 89 49%

Online taxi bike 81 45%

Delivery 11 6%

Total 181 100%

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The choice of food purchasing method is divided

into three, namely buying directly (on the spot),

online taxi bike or delivery. In the table above, there

are 89 respondents choosing to buy directly (on the

spot) with a percentage of 49%, 81 respondents

choosing an online taxi bike with a percentage of 45%

and 11 respondents choosing to delivery with a

percentage of 6%.

Table 6. Analysis Based on Sources of Information

Regarding Food

Sources of Information Frequency Percent

Social media

(Instagram, Twitter,

Facebook, etc.)

152 84%

Family/friends 29 16%

Total 181 100%

Information obtained by respondents regarding

current foods is divided into two choices, namely

social media and family / friends. In the table above,

152 respondents received information through social

media with a percentage of 84% and 29 respondents

chose family / friends with a percentage of 16%.

Table 7. Analysis of Do Research Participants Doing Sports

Sports Frequency Percent

Yes 47 26%

No 134 74%

Total 181 100%

Researchers want to find out whether respondents

during the last 3 months doing moderate-intensity

exercise (150 minutes per week, or the equivalent of

20-30 minutes per day). In the table above, 47

respondents did it with a percentage of 26% and 134

respondents did not do it with a percentage of 74%.

3.1 Relationship between Hedonic

Hungers and Eating Control

Correlation test analysis was conducted to determine

the relationship between hedonic hunger with eating

control in adolescent girls. In this research, the

Pearson correlation data analysis method is used. The

criterion of testing in this method is if a significant

value> 0.05 then Ho is accepted, whereas if a

significant value <0.05 then Ho is rejected. The

following are the results of the analysis of the hedonic

hunger correlation test with eating control.

Table 8. Correlation Test Results

Correlations

Hedonic

Hungers

Eating

Control

Hedonic

Hungers

Pearson

Correlation

1 .033

Sig. (2-

tailed)

. .658

181 181

Eating

Control

Pearson

Correlation

.033 1

Sig. (2-

tailed)

.658 .

N 181 181

Based on the correlation test that can be seen in

the table above, it can be concluded that the

Hungarian Hedonistic variable has no relationship

with the Eating Control variable, because the results

of the significance of 0.685 which is greater than

0.005 so that Ho is accepted.

4 CONCLUSIONS AND

SUGGESTIONS

4.1 Conclusions

This research was conducted with the aim to find out

whether there is a relationship between hedonic

hunger with eating control in adolescent girls. Based

on the results of the study, it can be concluded that

there is no significant relationship between hedonic

hunger with eating control. This is seen from the

Pearson correlation coefficient between the hedonic

hunger variable with the resulting meal control

variable of 0.685 or above 0.005 (p> 0.005). That is,

the Zero Hypothesis (H0) is accepted, with the sound

"There is no significant relationship between hedonic

hunger with eating control in adolescent girls."

4.2 Discussion

Brooks-Gunn & Paikoff said that women experience

an increase in body fat greater than men, thus making

the body more distant from the ideal body shape

(Santrock, 2015). This is likely to trigger respondents

(adolescent girls) to control eating to achieve ideal

body shape. According to Lowe a combination of

environments that are filled with delicious food

(palatable food) and cultural norms that make these

foods "psychologically available" become the perfect

Relationship between Hedonic Hungers with Eat Control in Women Adolescents

409

container for hedonic hungry. But it turns out, in this

study found no correlation in the obesogenic

environment associated with hedonic hunger, eating

control would also produce a correlation between

hedonic hunger with eating control itself. Considering

living in an obesogenic environment, it is thought that

implicit or explicit awareness of palatable food can

cause individuals to often think or want such food at

any time. Worse, this situation does not limit the

amount of food available, which triggers hedonic

hunger. (Lowe & Butryn, 2007). Apparently, the

theory is not in accordance with this research. It can

be seen in table 4.4 that the frequency of respondents

who choose to eat home cooking is greater than those

who choose to eat snacks (48.1% and 51.9%), which

in hedonic hungry are more likely to buy food outside

because of the strong urge to eat delicious food

(palatable food). In addition, it can be seen in table

4.2 that the frequency of respondents who have

pocket money in excess of 1,000,000 per month is

only 19.3% of 100% of participants, while

researchers have an assumption the greater the

allowance they have, the more likely it is to trigger

hedonic hunger because it is more easy to buy food

anytime. The irregularity of the results of this study

lies in the results of the analysis based on the

objectives of the study participants' expenses. The

result is 60% of 100% of participants choose to pay

for food compared to shopping for goods, care (care)

and others. This should support the discovery of

hedonic hunger in this study. Analysis based on the

participant's food purchasing method showed that

49% chose to buy directly (on the spot), 45% of

online motorcycle taxi and 6% of delivery.

Researchers assume that if buying directly means the

availability of these foods in the environment affects

the purchasing decisions of participants to buy these

foods, while the rest who choose online motorcycle

taxi and delivery message are more concerned with

the practical side because the food goes straight to the

front door. Obesogenic environment is as an

influence of the surrounding environment,

opportunity, or living conditions that cause obesity in

individuals and populations. This is consistent with

the results of the analysis whether the study

participants did sports with a percentage of 74% of

100% participants not doing sports during the last 3

months of moderate intensity (150 minutes per week,

or the equivalent of 20-30 minutes per day). The

living conditions of today's teens who depend on

social media such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook,

and others that facilitate access to find out or get

information about food, especially delicious food

(palatable food) and contemporary foods. The results

of the analysis based on sources of information about

the study participants' food showed that 84% found

out through social media and 16% through family /

friends. The weakness of this research lies in the

method of distributing questionnaires conducted

digitally (google docs), which is likely to make

respondents feel confused and limited if there are

question items that are not understood. So, they fill in

at random or not optimal. Maybe it would be more

effective if the distribution of the questionnaire was

done in paper and pencil as the researchers did at the

time of the pilot study, so that if the study participants

had questions they could directly ask the researchers

until they understood.

4.3 Suggestions

Theoretical Suggestions

For further research, researchers suggest expanding

the number of samples used in the study. Expanding

in the sense of being able to add numbers, change or

add sample variations. In addition, more attention to

the process of sampling techniques that will be used

from beginning to end, one of them is by changing the

method of disseminating data from digital (google

docs) to the paper and pencil method, so that if

research participants have questions they can be

directly asked to researchers until they understand.

Practical Suggestions

For adolescent girls, researchers suggest paying

attention to health by starting a good and appropriate

diet and diet. Because, hedonic hunger and food

control (related to inappropriate dietary behavior) can

be a trigger for overeating, obesity and dangerous

diseases later in life. In addition, researchers hope

there is education, perhaps in the form of educational

materials and educational programs such as seminars

from the school about healthy eating and healthy

lifestyles so that youth understand how important it is

to pay attention to health as early as possible.

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