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Participation as a leader in immersion weight loss treatment may benefit, not harm, young adult staff members
Author(s) -
Schaumberg K.,
Anderson D. A.,
Kirschenbaum D. S.,
Earleywine M.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
clinical obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.64
H-Index - 12
eISSN - 1758-8111
pISSN - 1758-8103
DOI - 10.1111/cob.12106
Subject(s) - medicine , weight loss , weight management , overweight , obesity , harm , psychological intervention , young adult , gerontology , physical therapy , psychiatry , psychology , social psychology
Summary Despite the success of weight‐management programmes, some researchers caution that participation in an aggressive approach to weight management could promote the development of eating pathology. The current study evaluated the risks and benefits for young adults of serving as staff members in an immersion treatment of adolescent obesity over the course of a summer. Participants included weight loss staff members ( n = 108) along with a comparison group of young adults with similar demographic characteristics ( n = 136). Participants completed assessments of eating disorder and obesity risk at three time points: the beginning of the summer, the end of the summer and a 6‐week follow‐up. Weight loss leadership participants who were initially overweight lost weight over the course of the summer, but those at healthy weights maintained their weight. Comparison participants also maintained their weight during the summer. Weight loss staff members also increased dietary restraint over the summer, and increases in dietary restraint appeared to facilitate appropriate weight reduction. Participation as a leader in an immersion weight loss programme seemed to benefit, not harm, young adults; this suggests potential advantages for using weight controlling interventions in a wide range of individuals, including as an obesity prevention strategy.