Weight changes in a couples program: negative association of marital adjustment

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Obesity Research
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Marital adjustment is often considered in therapeutic interventions.
• The relationship between marital satisfaction and weight management is not well-understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of marital adjustment on weight changes in obese subjects.
• To explore the correlation between marital satisfaction scores and weight loss outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-six moderately obese subjects were grouped based on the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Scale (MAS).
• Weight changes were tracked over a one-year treatment program and at a 3-month follow-up.
• Correlations between MAS scores and weight loss were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Subjects in the "moderately unhappy" group (MAS ≤ 99) lost significantly more weight (29.9 lb) than the "relatively happy" group (MAS ≥ 100) (20.4 lb) at one year.
• The unhappy group also showed greater weight loss at 3-month follow-up (27.7 lb vs 17.8 lb).
• A higher percentage of subjects in the unhappy group reached ideal weight (50% vs 7.7%).

Conclusions:

• Marital counseling is not a prerequisite for successful weight loss.
• Moderate marital dissatisfaction may not hinder, and could potentially benefit, weight loss efforts.
• Weight loss did not appear to improve marital adjustment in this study.