According to the Boundary Model for the Regulation of Eating, dieters push their normal biological cues of hunger and satiety to extremes through which mechanism?

The Boundary Model for the Regulation of Eating suggests that dieters ignore their inherent biological signals, such as hunger and satiety, in favor of external dieting rules. By relying heavily on societal or self-imposed dietary restrictions, individuals often suppress their natural hunger cues, resulting in a cognitive set point that becomes distorted.

This cognitive shift leads dieters to engage in behaviors that compel them to ignore their body's physical signals of hunger and fullness, causing them to respond to external cues or predetermined eating schedules rather than their internal physiological needs. By constantly suppressing hunger, their connection to these biological markers diminishes over time, which can lead to dysfunctional eating patterns.

While the physiological changes associated with hormones like leptin and ghrelin (as noted in another option) do occur with dieting, the focus on the cognitive aspect—specifically the suppression of hunger—is a core mechanism highlighted in the Boundary Model. This cognitive framing is crucial as it emphasizes how dieters manipulate their internal hunger cues through mental processes rather than solely through physiological responses.