"The non-dieters actually ate less than thedieters," Heatherton says. "The non-dietersstopped eating because they were full. But thedieters ate a lot more--we call it the 'what thehell effect.'"

Heatherton has also observed that when peopleare upset they tend to break their diets.

"People try to comfort themselves when they arein an upset mood--some shop, some drink, someeat," he says.

Only certain types of stress lead to bingeeating. Fear, for example, does not trigger bingeeating. Heatherton says.

To prove that point, Heatherton told subjectsthat they would undergo electric shock afterspending 20 minutes in front of mass quantities ofice cream. Fear of electric shock had no effect,Heaterton found, and eating patterns remainedconsistent with the control group.

But when students' self-esteem was threatened,instead of their personal safety, dieters tendedto binge.

"Experiences where students' self-esteem wasthreatened--such as doing poorly on an exam,getting bad feedback from a TF, feeling bad afteran MCAT--caused dieters to binge," Heathertonsays. "Distress interferes with people's abilityto self-regulate their behavior."

Heatherton maintains that his theoriesregarding self-regulation can be applied to otherhabits and behavioral patterns as well.

"Current society is caught with an inability tocontrol drug use, anger, molesting children,spending," Heatherton says. "A large part of theproblem is that society is not behaving inmoderation. We feel that we have to be perfect orwe might as well not try at all."

Heatherton recently completed a book with thehelp of two Case Western University professors,which will be published in the fall.

The book, Losing Control: Failures of SelfRegulation, explores self-regulating failuresas applied to smoking, studying and drinking, aswell as eating.

"It is ironic that people will engage inbehavior that they are specifically trying not todo," Heatherton says.

"The issue of self-control failure isfundamental to our society. It is the cause of ourmost basic problems. Why do people murder? Why dothey engage in risky sex?