Psychosocial Predictors of Maintained Weight Loss in Women: Informing Behavioral Obesity Treatment Foci

Behavioral obesity treatments are typically unable to facilitate meaningful weight loss beyond the short term. Implications of malleable psychosocial factors are unclear, which limits behavioral intervention contents. The current aim was to inform obesity treatments to improve their foci on psychosocial factors leading to resilient behavioral changes and maintained weight loss.

Based on pre-planned analyses, women participating in a community-based obesity treatment emphasizing self-regulation and exercise, and who lost at least 3% of their initial weight (N = 89), were measured on eating-related self-efficacy, negative mood, emotional eating, body satisfaction, and self-regulating eating at baseline, Month 3, and Month 6; and on weight change over 12 months.

From baseline to Month 6, there was a significant overall improvement in each psychosocial variable. In separate multiple regression equations, scores at (1) Month 6, (2) change from baseline to Month 6, and (3) change from Month 3 to Month 6 were entered as predictors of maintained weight loss from Month 6 to Month 12. Using a backward elimination process, only negative mood was retained in the final Month 6 model, and significantly predicted maintained weight loss (R²_adjusted = .03, p = .050). Changes in self-efficacy, mood, emotional eating, and self-regulation were retained in the final baseline to Month 6 model, and significantly predicted weight loss maintained over 12 months (R²_adjusted = .30, p < .001).

Findings add to research on obesity treatment development by suggesting an enhanced focus on facilitating changes in self-efficacy, mood, emotional eating, and self-regulation may enhance maintenance of lost weight (or increase weight loss).