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Hypnotizability and Obesity

1979; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 45; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2466/pr0.1979.45.3.974

1558-691X

Paul L. Deyoub,

Diet and metabolism studies

Group 2, 41.1 yr. (SD = 15.84) and 181.3 Ib. (SD = 33.03), respectively. All 20 subjects were white, middle-class, married Protestants, with a mean education of 12 yr. Each woman had a history of at least one attempt at weight reduction, usually through diet. All reported temporary weight loss with subsequent re-gaining sometimes exceeding the pre-diet weight. Hypnotizability was measured during the first session with the 12-item Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility (Shor & Orne, 1962), administered by the author, who was also the therapist for both groups. The Harvard mean scores for Group 1, 2, and the combined groups were, respectively, 6.8 (SD = 2.36), 5 (SD = 3.77), and 5.9 (SD = 3.26). There was a range in each group from low to high hypnotizability, 1 to 10 and 0 to 10 for Groups 1 and 2, respectively. There was no significant difference on the Harvard scores between groups (r = 1.22). Each group met for eight weekly sessions and the mean posttreatment weight changes were -2.3 Ib. (SD = 6.69), -3.6 lb. (SD = 4.27), and -2.95 Ib. (SD = 5.65) for Groups 1, 2, and combined groups, respectively. The range of weight change was a gain of 15 Ib. to a loss of 10 Ib. for Group 1 and +6 Ib. to -9 Ib. for Group 2. The groups did not significantly differ in weight change (t = .49). No significant correlations were found between weight changes and Haward scores (r = -.003, .11, and .07 for Groups 1, 2, and all subjects, respmively). While weight loss was negligible, there was a range of 25 Ib. between losers and gainers, as well as variability in hypnotizability. In spite of sufficient individual differences, hypnotizability failed to predict weight loss for these 20 women. It may be noted that the Harvard mean of 5.9 for the whole group is less than the Harvard scale mean of 9.17 for obese women reported by Thorne, Rasmus, and Fisher (1976). The lower Harvard scores are supportive of Deyoub's 11978) finding that obese subjects are not unusually suggestible.