Research on Weight Loss

The first study focused on two different treatment groups that were used to help continue with weight loss. The study had twenty-four obese women (ages 18-55) who were considered to be 30-60% above ideal weight. These women were non-smokers and all in good health and it was required that they had not lost more than 10 lbs. within the past month or 20 lbs. in the past six months. The women were told that they would be assigned to a traditional behavioral weight loss program or a new weight-management program. The participants were randomly assigned to one of the two treatment groups. 12 participants were in each group. The first treatment group was the Behavioral Choice Treatment (BCT) group and the other was the Traditional Behavioral Treatment (TBT) group. The Behavioral Choice Treatment would be considered to be the Cognitive-Behavioral Theory group of the study. Weight was taken on a balance beam scale at pre-treatment, during the weekly sessions, post-treatment, and at the 3, 6, and 12 month marks during the follow-up sessions. Height was also taken at pre-treatment to help determine the BMI of the participants. Attendance, which was taken at each session, and the self-monitoring records were used as an index of devotion to the whole treatment program. The women were instructed to keep their food records in a diary (A.K.A. what they eat, how much, etc.) during the first 10 weeks of treatment. The women also completed self-report measures for depression and self-esteem at pre-, mid-, and post-treatment, as well as the 3 and 6 month follow-up. All of the women in both groups received 2-week meal plans as well as recipe booklets. The only difference between them was the amount of food. Both of the plans were low fat and contained 60% carbohydrates, 25% fat, and 15% protein. The TBT group had a 1,200 kcal/day diet and the BCT participants had an approximately 1,800 kcal/day diet. The women in both groups were encouraged to stick with these plans for the first two weeks. Eating at a constant calorie level was also encouraged. Self-monitoring stopped before the acute treatment ended to address behavior change. The groups had the same amount of time for each session, the same amount of therapist contact time, the same session topic used, the same homework assignments, the same self-monitoring of eating behavior and even the same exercise prescription. The exercise prescription given to them was walking 30 minutes/day, 3 days/week. This was to be done on their own time. The participants attended 13 weekly 1½ hour group treatment sessions. These sessions would have 5 to 7 individuals in each group. Clinical social workers, clinical psychologists, and two i...

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...fruit and vegetable intake readiness to eat at least five servings per day of fruits and vegetables was assessed. The results showed that the treatment group had a greater percentage than the control group in terms of healthy eating outcomes at 6 (43.9% versus 31.3%); 12 (43.10% versus 35.2%); and 24 months (47.5% versus 34.3%). The treatment group also had higher percentages of exercise outcomes 43% at 6 months, 37.7% at 12 months, and 44.9% at 24 months when compared to the control group with 34.6% at 6 months, 35.9% at 12 months, and 38.1% at 24 months. The treatment group also managed emotional stress significantly better than the control group: 44% versus 25.3% at 6 months, 45% versus 38.3% at 12 months, and 49.7% versus 30.3% at 24 months (p < .001). The next set of results showed that the treatment group showed significantly better fruit and vegetable outcomes when compared to the control group: 44.0% versus 31.4% at 6 months, 45.3% versus 39.6% at 12 months, and 48.5% versus 39.0% at 24 months (p < .0001). The final results showed that at the final follow-up, the treatment group lost significantly more weight than the control group (p < .05). This study shows that TTM-based feedback can improve healthy eating, exercise, managing emotional distress without eating, and overall weight in an overweight/obese population.