Processes in the maintenance of weight loss with behavior therapy

Abstract

Twenty-seven-week follow-up data for 51 women who completed a behavioral weight loss program indicated small but significant additional weight losses. Participants adhered better to techniques oriented toward altering the eating environment than with self-standard setting and self-reward. However, reported continued attention to standard-setting and self-reward techniques correlated significantly with weight loss during the last 19 weeks of follow-up. Participants showing a high need for social approval and an internal locus of control lost the most weight during this period. These women might not only have believed that they had the power to lose weight but also found doing so to be highly reinforcing.