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Well-being and morbid obesity in women: A controlled therapy evaluation

1998; Wiley; Volume: 23; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/(sici)1098-108x(199804)23

1098-108X

Sheryl A. Tanco, Wolfgang Linden, Tracey Earle,

Behavioral Health and Interventions

Objective Morbidly obese individuals are unlikely to reach and maintain normative weights. Thus, interventions aimed at alleviating corollary problems, independent of attempts at weight loss, are appropriate. A cognitive group treatment program (CT) was developed which incorporated a nondieting approach, regular exercise, and use of alternative coping skills. Weight loss per se was not a focus of the intervention. The purpose of the current work was to evaluate this program in a controlled, comparative treatment outcome study. Method: Sixty-two obese women with a history of treatment failures were randomly assigned to the CT program, a behavior therapy weight loss program (BT), or a wait-list control group. Results: For CT participants, depression, anxiety, and eating-related psychopathology decreased significantly over the course of treatment while perceptions of self-control increased; BT and control subjects showed no significant changes in these variables. Women in both active treatment groups lost significant amounts of weight, while members of the control group showed a nonsignificant increase in weight. At 6-month follow-up, treatment benefits were maintained. Discussion: Findings suggest that interventions not directly aimed at weight loss can enhance psychological well-being and thus may be appropriate for some obese women. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 23:325–339, 1998.