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Using ecological momentary assessment to better understand dietary lapse types
Stephanie P Goldstein1, Cara Dochat2, Leah M Schumacher3
1The Center for Weight, Eating, and Lifestyle Sciences (WELL Center), Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Psychology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Providence, RI, USA.
Appetite
|July 8, 2018
Summary
Dietary lapses, like eating unplanned foods or at wrong times, predict weight loss failure. Only eating at an unintended time significantly worsened weight loss outcomes in adults with overweight/obesity.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Science
- Obesity Research
- Psychology
Background:
- Dietary lapses frequently predict weight loss failure.
- Previous research has used limited definitions of dietary lapses.
- No studies have differentiated lapse types in individuals with overweight/obesity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine predictors of three distinct dietary lapse types using ecological momentary assessment (EMA).
- To investigate the association between lapse types and weight loss outcomes in adults with overweight/obesity.
Main Methods:
- 189 adults with overweight/obesity in a 12-month weight loss trial completed 14 days of EMA.
- EMA captured lapse types (portion, food type, timing), physical, environmental, and affective states.
- Generalized estimating equations analyzed predictors of lapses and their association with weight change.
Main Results:
- Lapse types varied significantly by time and location.
- Increased deprivation, hunger, and boredom predicted different lapse types.
- Eating at an unintended time was the only lapse type associated with poorer weight loss.
Conclusions:
- Distinct dietary lapse types exist and are influenced by momentary states.
- Not all lapse types equally impact weight loss outcomes.
- Future research should explore lapse behaviors to personalize weight loss interventions.
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