Affirmation prevents long-term weight gain

Abstract

Weight gain and loss arise from environmental, genetic, biological, and behavioral factors. Most North Americans desire weight loss or maintenance, but most gain weight throughout adulthood. In a society rife with thin ideals and anti-fat bias, especially for women, one under-recognized factor could contribute to this weight-gaining trajectory: the activation and persistence of psychological threat. We used multiple methods to contact participants from two previous studies in which weight-dissatisfied women were given either a values affirmation to buffer them against psychological threat, or a control task. An average of 2.32 years after the affirmation manipulation, higher body mass index (BMI) women who had been affirmed maintained their weight, whereas controls gained weight. There was no effect on lower BMI women. Additional analyses ruled out alternative explanations. Results underscore the role of psychological threat in long-term weight gain. Our findings suggest that a more holistic analysis of weight-gaining trajectory is essential for understanding processes behind weight maintenance and change.