*2.3. Discussion Experiment 1*

In line with the a priori hypothesis, the results showed reduced food consumption in the food-response/inhibition training group compared to that in the food-response training group. This supports the notion that a response inhibition training aimed to balance response execution and inhibition to food stimuli can influence actual food consumption among female restrained eaters. In addition, differences between the training groups were observed in food-related anxiety. Specifically, a trend showing an increase in food-related anxiety following the food-response training and reduced food-related anxiety following the food-response/inhibition training resulted in a significant interaction between time and training group. That said, the simple effects testing pre- and post-training changes in each group separately did not reach a significance level. Nevertheless, the interaction between time and group showed that food-specific response inhibition training can influence not only eating behaviors but also the emotional response to food. This is important because previous studies have shown that restrained eaters tend to overeat in response to negative emotions such as stress [28]. High-calorie food stimuli, such as those used in the training task, are considered threat-provoking stimuli for restrained eaters because high-calorie foods are associated with weight gain. Thus, the fact that the food-response/inhibition training exposed participants to palatable high-calorie foods yet reduced food-related anxiety is clinically meaningful. While Experiment 1 implies that a balanced food-response/inhibition training can help prevent overeating and change food-related anxiety, it does not inform us regarding the participants' attitudes toward food. Previous studies have shown that following response inhibition trainings, palatable foods are often rated as less attractive [24]. Therapeutically, encouraging negative attitudes toward food among restrained eaters may not be ideal since these individuals already hold more negative attitudes toward food compared to unrestrained eaters [29]. Therefore, Experiment 2 was conducted to assess whether and how a balanced food-response/inhibition training influences restrained eaters' implicit attitudes toward food stimuli.
