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Well‐being and morbid obesity in women: A controlled therapy evaluation
Author(s) -
Tanco Sheryl,
Linden Wolfgang,
Earle Tracey
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-108x(199804)23:3<325::aid-eat10>3.0.co;2-x
Subject(s) - weight loss , psychopathology , psychological intervention , anxiety , psychology , normative , obesity , group psychotherapy , coping (psychology) , clinical psychology , medicine , psychiatry , philosophy , epistemology
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.