Exercise, Weight & Diet - Study
Men gain additional psychological benefits
by adding exercise to a weight-loss program.
Weight-Study - Aim
Adding exercise to a comprehensive weight-loss program might not only
attenuate any psychological distress associated with weight-loss attempts
but also may provide psychological benefits. This study examined whether
a diet-plus-exercise weight-loss program improved psychological outcomes
more than a diet-only weight-loss program or an assessment-only control
group.
Weight-Study - Methods
This study was part of a larger 1-year randomized weight-loss trial examining
the effects of diet and exercise on cardiovascular disease risk factors
in 264 overweight adults. Psychological measures specific to weight control
(e.g., cognitive restraint, disinhibition, hunger, and body dissatisfaction)
as well as traditional measures of psychological distress (e.g., symptoms
of depression, anxiety, and stress) were obtained at baseline and 1 year.
Weight-Study - Results
Men and women in either weight-loss program reported greater restraint,
less disinhibition, and less hunger at 1 year than those in no program.
Men in the diet-plus-exercise program experienced additional increases
in restraint and decreases in hunger than did men in the diet-only program.
Women in the diet-plus-exercise program did not experience additional
psychological benefits specific to weight control than those in the diet-only
program, despite increases in aerobic capacity.
Weight-Study - Issues
The pattern seen for overweight men in the diet-plus-exercise program
at 1 year-greater restraint, less disinhibition, and less hunger-is similar
to the pattern seen in successful weight maintainers. These results underscore
the need for innovative strategies that will enhance and sustain the pattern
of psychological benefits specific to weight control associated with successful
weight loss, especially for overweight women.
Source: Kiernan M, King AC, Stefanick ML,
Killen JD. Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention, Stanford
University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California. 2001
Weight Loss News
Theories about how to lose weight, how to reduce obesity and general weight
management are constantly changing along with ideas about which weight
loss diet program is best and so forth. At present, however, a balanced
diet combined with regular exercise remains the favorite weight loss strategy
of most dietitians and weight loss experts. Return to Weight Loss Data
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