Weight Control Study
Further support for consistent self-monitoring
as a vital component of successful weight control.
Weight Loss Study Aim
This study attempted to replicate that of Baker and Kirschenbaum by providing
a descriptive analysis of the relationship between self-monitoring and
weight control. Fifty-nine women and men in long-term cognitive-behavioral
treatment for obesity participated over an 8-week period. Percentages
of participants who self-monitored consistently and the relationship between
the variability in self-monitoring and weight change were examined.
Weight Loss Study Results
As in the previous study, a substantial minority of the participants in
this research (26.3 percent) self-monitored all foods eaten on less than
half of the days evaluated. The assertion of Baker and Kirschenbaum that
self-monitoring is most appropriately viewed as both a state and a trait
was supported by finding that the most consistent self-monitors lost more
weight than the least consistent self-monitors; however, regardless of
overall self-monitoring consistency, participants lost much more weight
during their two most consistent weeks compared with their two least consistent
weeks. Again, as in the previous study, only the more consistent quartile
of self-monitors lost a substantial amount during the course of this study.
Weight Loss Study Issues
The results of both studies taken together suggests that a reasonable
target for consistency for self-monitoring within the context of a professional
cognitive-behavioral treatment program may be self-monitoring all foods
eaten on at least 75 percent of the days. If participants generally self-monitor
on less than half of the days during participation in such programs, they
may be very unlikely to succeed at weight loss both during the program
and afterward.
Source: Boutelle KN, Kirschenbaum DS. Center
for Behavioral Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA. 1998
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