How can obese weight controllers minimize weight gain during the high risk holiday season? By self-monitoring very consistently.
TL;DR: Findings support the critical role of self-monitoring in weight control and demonstrate the benefits of a low-cost intervention for assisting weight controllers during the holidays.
Abstract: This study examined the efficacy of augmenting standard weekly cognitive-behavioral treatment for obesity with a self-monitoring intervention during the high risk holiday season. Fifty-seven participants in a long-term cognitive-behavioral treatment program were randomly assigned to self-monitoring intervention or comparison groups. During 2 holiday weeks (Christmas-New Years), the intervention group's treatment was supplemented with additional phone calls and daily mailings, all focused on self-monitoring. As hypothesized, the intervention group self-monitored more consistently and managed their weight better than the comparison group during the holidays. However, both groups struggled with weight management throughout the holidays. These findings support the critical role of self-monitoring in weight control and demonstrate the benefits of a low-cost intervention for assisting weight controllers during the holidays.
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TL;DR: Whether self‐monitoring of lifestyle behaviours through a short message service maintenance treatment (SMSMT) via mobile phones with personalized feedback positively effects weight, lifestyle behaviours and psychological well‐being in obese children is analyzed.
Abstract: Objective: Maintaining weight loss results in childhood obesity treatment is difficult to achieve. Self-management techniques such as self-monitoring are associated with increased weight loss and maintenance. This study analyzes whether self-monitoring of lifestyle behaviours through a short message service maintenance treatment (SMSMT) via mobile phones with personalized feedback positively effects weight, lifestyle behaviours and psychological well-being in obese children. Methods: After 3 months of behavioural lifestyle treatment, 141 overweight and obese children (7-12 years) were randomly assigned to an intervention group receiving SMSMT for 9 months (n = 73) or to the control group (n = 68). The intervention group sent weekly self-monitoring data on exercise and eating behaviour and their mood via mobile phones. In return, they received tailored feedback messages. Primary treatment outcomes were weight, eating behaviour and psychological well-being, i.e. competence, self-esteem and quality of life. Secondary outcome was adherence to the SMSMT. Data were analyzed with mixed modelling. Results: SMSMT did not improve treatment outcomes. Controls gained temporarily in physical health scores (P = 0.01). SMSMT completers sent on average every 2 weeks an SMS. Children who had greater weight loss during the first 3 months of lifestyle treatment sent more SMSs (P = 0.04). Conclusions: We did not find a positive effect of SMSMT on weight, eating behaviour or psychological well-being in obese children. SMSMT seems to be a feasible method of treatment delivery. Future research should study variations of SMSMT to investigate how SMSMT can be more effective. © 2012 The Authors Pediatric Obesity © 2012 International Association for the Study of Obesity.
84 citations
TL;DR: Use of self-monitoring tools and participation in online support are predictive of weight loss in the context of a commercial, online weight control programme.
Abstract: The Internet provides a widely accessible platform for weight loss interventions. Automated tools can allow self-guided monitoring of food intake and other target behaviours that are established correlates of weight change. Many programmes also offer social support from the virtual community. The aim of this research was to assess associations between engagement with self-monitoring tools and social support, and weight loss in an online weight-control programme. This paper describes a retrospective analysis of weight change among 3621 subscribers to a commercial Internet-based weight loss programme. Participants were all subscribers (2979 women; 642 men) joining the programme between July 2005 and November 2008 with two or more recorded weights spanning at least 28 days of participation in the programme. Engagement was indexed with frequency of using online diet and exercise diaries and with use of the social support forums. Programme engagement was associated with weight loss in both men and women after controlling for initial BMI and duration of participation. The three engagement variables accounted for 13% of variance in percentage weight loss in women (p 5%) weight loss (men: OR = 3.45 p < .001; women: OR = 5.05 p < .001). Being in the highest tertile of engagement with exercise diaries was associated with clinically significant weight loss in men (OR = 3.48 p < .001) and, less strongly, in women (OR = 1.46 p < .05). Use of self-monitoring tools and participation in online support are predictive of weight loss in the context of a commercial, online weight control programme.
82 citations
TL;DR: The topic of holiday weight gain has been a frequent subject of the lay media and scientific interest has only been recent, and efforts patterned to increase awareness to energy balance and body weight have been shown to be successful at reducing such gain.
80 citations
01 Jan 2012
TL;DR: This chapter begins by reviewing data on the effectiveness of behavioral treatment, documenting that short-term results are impressive and that long-term weight loss maintenance remains challenging.
Abstract: Whether for weight loss or to prevent weight gain or regain, behavioral treatment is a first-line approach to obesity intervention. This chapter begins by reviewing data on the effectiveness of behavioral treatment, documenting that short-term results are impressive and that long-term weight loss maintenance remains challenging. Next, the principles and structure of behavioral treatment are reviewed in detail. Several key components are described: self-monitoring of eating, physical activity, and weight; stimulus control; problem-solving; cognitive restructuring; and relapse prevention. Behavioral treatment can be conducted with various types of dietary intervention. Several dietary options are described and evaluated, including use of very-low-calorie diets, meal replacements, portion-controlled diets, low-carbohydrate diets, and low energy-density diets. The role of physical activity is examined, as are several methods of promoting physical activity within behavioral treatment. Finally, additional methods of improving the long-term effectiveness of behavioral treatment are considered. Learning Objectives
77 citations
TL;DR: The results indicate that self-monitoring is a cornerstone of successful weight control even for morbidly obese low-income minority adolescents; targeting consistency of self-Monitoring among these high-risk weight controllers and their parents should be just as important as it is for more affluent and less overweight adolescents.
Abstract: KIRSCHENBAUM, DANIEL S., JULIE N. GERMANN, AND BARRY H. RICH. Treatment of morbid obesity in low-income adolescents: effects of parental self-monitoring. Obes Res. 2005;13:1527–1529. Objective: This study examined the extent to which consistency of self-monitoring by participants and their parents was related to weight control over an initial period of 3 months within the context of a treatment program for morbidly obese low-income minority adolescents. Research Methods and Procedures: Eighty-three obese adolescents (mean age, 13.0 years; 51% boys; 92% African American; mean BMI, 43.0 kg/m 2 ; mean BMI z-score, 6.0) and at least one parent participated in a long-term treatment program that included a very-low-fat dietary focus, weekly group cognitive-behavior therapy, monthly nutrition education classes, a 12-week physical therapy class, and medical monitoring. Results: Participants who self-monitored on the majority of days compared with those who did not self-monitor at all or who self-monitored infrequently attended more sessions and generally lost more weight over the first 3 months. Although parents signed behavioral contracts committing to self-monitor their own eating and exercising over the first month, only 12% did so. Nonetheless, participants whose parents self-monitored were much more likely to self-monitor consistently and lose weight during the first 3 months. Discussion: These results indicate that self-monitoring is a cornerstone of successful weight control even for morbidly obese low-income minority adolescents; targeting consistency of self-monitoring among these high-risk weight controllers and their parents should be just as important as it is for more affluent and less overweight adolescents.
75 citations
References
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Book•
01 Jan 1979
11,977 citations
"How can obese weight controllers mi..." refers background in this paper
...Because of concerns about thereliability of weight-change scores (see Cook & Campbell, 1979), the same variableswere evaluated with weight in pounds as the dependent variable....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the question of how affect arises and what affect indicates from a feedback-based view-point on self-regulation using the analogy of action control as the attempt to diminish distance to a goal, and proposed a second feedback system that senses and regulates the rate at which the action-guiding system is functioning.
Abstract: The question of how affect arises and what affect indicates is examined from a feedback-based view-point on self-regulation. Using the analogy of action control as the attempt to diminish distance to a goal, a second feedback system is postulated that senses and regulates the rate at which the action-guiding system is functioning
2,660 citations
Book•
21 Nov 1994TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a survey of self-regulation failure in social and theoretical contexts, focusing on the following: Self-Regulation Failure: Blowing It. Failure to Control Emotions and Moods.
Abstract: Basic Issues: Introduction: Self-Regulation Failure in Social and Theoretical Context. General Patterns and Mechanisms of Self-Regulation Failure. Controlling Thoughts, Feelings, and Actions: Task Performance and Self-Regulation Failure: Blowing It. Self-Management: Taking Care of Yourself. Thoughts Out of Control. Failure to Control Emotions and Moods. Controlling Impulses and Appetities: Impulses and Appetites. Alcohol Consumption and Abuse. Eating Too Much. Smoking. A Sampler of Other Behavioral Control Problems: Gambling, Shopping, and Aggression. Conclusion: Self Regulation: Propects, Problems, and Promises. References. Subject Index.
1,949 citations
"How can obese weight controllers mi..." refers methods in this paper
...According to self-regulatory theories (eg, Baumeister, Heatherton, & Tice, 1994; Carver & Scheier, 1990; Kanfer & Karoly, 1972; Kirschenbaum, 1987), self-monitoring should play a vital role in effective weightcontrol....
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TL;DR: The concept of self-control, until recently embedded in intrapsychic personality theories and banished from strict behavioral accounts of human activity, is considered from the perspective of a closed-loop learning paradigm as discussed by the authors.
468 citations
TL;DR: In the matched subgroups, obese people who had sought treatment reported greater psychopathology and more binge eating than did those who had not sought treatment or did normal-weight controls.
Abstract: A group of obese people who had not sought treatment, an obese group who had sought treatment in a professional, hospital-based program, and normal-weight controls (N = 547) were compared in regard to level of psychopathology, binge eating, and negative emotional eating. Because the groups differed significantly on several demographic variables, 3 demographically matched groups were created and compared (n = 177, 59 per group). In the matched subgroups, obese people who had sought treatment reported greater psychopathology and more binge eating than did those who had not sought treatment or did normal-weight controls. Both obese groups (including those who had not sought treatment) endorsed more symptoms of distress, negative emotional eating, overeating, difficulty resisting temptation, and less exercise than did normal-weight controls.
332 citations