Abstract
BackgroundThis study was conceived to analyze how exercise and weight management psychosocial variables, derived from several health behavior change theories, predict weight change in a short-term intervention. The theories under analysis were the Social Cognitive Theory, the Transtheoretical Model, the Theory of Planned Behavior, and Self-Determination Theory.MethodsSubjects were 142 overweight and obese women (BMI = 30.2 ± 3.7 kg/m2; age = 38.3 ± 5.8y), participating in a 16-week University-based weight control program. Body weight and a comprehensive psychometric battery were assessed at baseline and at program's end.ResultsWeight decreased significantly (-3.6 ± 3.4%, p < .001) but with great individual variability. Both exercise and weight management psychosocial variables improved during the intervention, with exercise-related variables showing the greatest effect sizes. Weight change was significantly predicted by each of the models under analysis, particularly those including self-efficacy. Bivariate and multivariate analyses results showed that change in variables related to weight management had a stronger predictive power than exercise-specific predictors and that change in weight management self-efficacy was the strongest individual correlate (p < .05). Among exercise predictors, with the exception of self-efficacy, importance/effort and intrinsic motivation towards exercise were the stronger predictors of weight reduction (p < .05).ConclusionThe present models were able to predict 20–30% of variance in short-term weight loss and changes in weight management self-efficacy accounted for a large share of the predictive power. As expected from previous studies, exercise variables were only moderately associated with short-term outcomes; they are expected to play a larger explanatory role in longer-term results.
Highlights
This study was conceived to analyze how exercise and weight management psychosocial variables, derived from several health behavior change theories, predict weight change in a short-term intervention
Building on recent discussions on the usefulness of theory-based interventions in health behavior promotion [38,39,40] and following our analysis of baseline predictors of weight loss [41], the purpose of this study was to investigate the predictive value of changes in exercise and weight management related variables on weight change, in a sample of overweight and moderately obese women participating in a University-based weight management program
TTM/SCT – Transtheoretical Model and Social Cognitive Theory; TPB – Theory of Planned Behavior; SDT – Self Determination Theory; Exercise Self-efficacy (ESE) – Exercise Self-Efficacy; EPB – Exercise Perceived Barriers; ESS – Exercise Social Support; intrinsic motivation (IMI) – Intrinsic Motivation Inventory; Weight Management Self-efficacy (WEL) – Weight Efficacy Lifestyle Questionnaire. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001; ES – Effect Size; 95% CI – 95% Confidence Interval for mean difference theories, would predict weight change during a behavioral obesity treatment short-term intervention
Summary
This study was conceived to analyze how exercise and weight management psychosocial variables, derived from several health behavior change theories, predict weight change in a short-term intervention. Albeit reported inconsistently in the literature, psychosocial variables are accepted as playing a key role in explaining weight management [4,5] These variables are commonly gathered in health behavior models such as the Theory of Planned Behavior [TPB – [6]], the Transtheoretical Model [TTM – [7]], or more comprehensive human behavior theories like the Social-Cognitive Theory [SCT – [8]] and Self-Determination Theory [SDT – [9]]. The SCT is the most frequently used paradigm in weight management interventions [10] and it is commonly used to design physical activity interventions [e.g., [11,12]] This theory is based on the reciprocal determinism between behavior, environment, and person, with their constant interactions constituting the basis for human action [13]. Perceived barriers and expected outcomes are other SCT constructs that have been used before in weight control studies [e.g., [20,21]]
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