How can psychological factors lead to obesity

Dimension 1 F ; had a canonical correlation of 0. Standardized canonical coefficients for both dimensions were examined with the first dimension positively weighted by changes in mood 0. The second discriminant dimension was more weighted to change in physical activity 0. The first dimension reflects a negative affect and self-confidence dimension, while the second reflects a physical activity and dietary behavior dimension.

See Table 2 for the standardized pooled, within class standardized canonical coefficients, which can be interpreted similarly to standardized regression coefficients. For example, a one standard deviation increase on the depression variable will result in a. The results from the discriminant function analysis indicated two statistically significant dimensions.

The first dimension was a psychological dimension weighted by changes in depressive symptoms and self-efficacy for physical activity.

When examining the mean changes on these variables by weight status classification, women who gained weight reported increases in depressed mood ; , compared with women who lost weight ; or remained weight stable ;.

This finding is consistent with other studies in which depressive symptomatology was negatively associated with weight regain [ 12 ]. There are a few explanations for the association between mood and weight. Successful and purposeful weight loss is associated with improved mood [ 17 , 18 ]. Other findings from a recent meta analysis suggest that there is a relationship between increased physical activity and improved mood [ 5 ]. Additionally, although psychosocial in nature, clinically, depression encompasses many physical and behavioral features.

In fact, behavioral activation is often the first step in successful evidence-based treatments for depression [ 54 ]. These results highlight a need to include distress tolerance or some other intervention targets for managing negative mood within the context of weight and physical activity trials.

The other variable that was weighted highly on Dimension 1 was self-efficacy for physical activity. Although the research related to the construct of self-efficacy and weight loss has been mixed [ 55 , 56 ], self-efficacy has been shown to be an important construct for the adoption and maintenance of physical activity [ 29 ], and weight change in short-term weight loss studies [ 27 , 28 ]. The association between self-efficacy long-term weight outcomes from this physical activity-only trial provides further evidence for the importance of this construct.

It is interesting to note the change scores for this construct by weight status. For women classified as losing or gaining weight, the mean change was about 0. However, for women classified as being weight stable, there was virtually no change on self-efficacy between baseline and Month Women who have successfully performed physical activity for a month period may have already internalized their confidence to do so, which may reflect the stability of that construct over time among women who were weight stable.

Future studies should investigate the longitudinal relationship between changes in physical activity self-efficacy and weight gain. For women who are gaining weight, confidence in their ability to exercise may not transfer to confidence for managing dietary behaviors.

The second dimension identified in the discriminant function analysis reflects a behavior dimension. Consistent with other studies, these results provide further evidence for the importance of behavior change i.

In particular, women who lost weight reported, on average, minutes of physical activity, in contrast to the amounts reported 93 and 96 minutes in women who gained and remained weight stable, respectively. This result is similar to other studies indicating that physical activity behavior distinguishes successful weight loss maintainers [ 13 ]. Findings from the discriminant function analysis also identify fat consumption as a distinguishing variable.

It is surprising that women who gained weight from baseline to Month 12 reported greater decreases in fat consumption than women who lost or remained weight stable. This could reflect a tendency for underreporting [ 59 — 61 ] or a social desirability bias [ 62 , 63 ] that women who gained weight may be embarrassed by their dietary intake and thus were not forthcoming about their intake.

Unsuccessful dieters have been shown to misreport i. It is likely the results of the current study are related to a reporting bias, which is consistent with other studies which have found selective underreporting of fat by obese participants [ 60 , 64 ]. Future studies should include more precise measures of dietary intake and behavior than the screener measure used in this study. There are some limitations of this study which would put the findings in context.

First, although weight and height were clinically measured and physical activity was assessed via an interviewer-based measure, the other measures were self-reported. A more complete measure of dietary intake may have resulted in different findings for eating behaviors.

Of the sample, only Finally, the participants were self-selected in that they were interested and willing to be part of a physical activity intervention trial. Anecdotally, many of the women reported joining the trial with the goal of losing weight. It is possible that the women were motivated, in general, to lose weight, and this could have influenced the associations found in this study. This retrospective longitudinal analysis provides a framework for examining patterns of change that can be generalized to individuals who have not had the benefit of dietary recommendations, calorie goals, and problem solving for high risk situations, as is typical for behavioral weight control interventions.

Although the variables selected for inclusion in the analyses were based on theory and evidence-based practice, the study was retrospective in design, consisting of post hoc analyses. Discriminant function analyses have great potential value, particularly in the retrospective examination of certain predictor variables [ 66 ], but have limitations.

Specifically, this approach does not allow for the examination of directionality of changes nor reverse causality. For the current study, there were other variables known as important for weight loss maintenance not included in the discriminant analyses as they were not measured in the present study.

Future studies should examine other psychosocial and behavioral variables of interest. Despite these limitations, however, the paper identifies important constructs related to weight stability. This study provides further evidence for the importance of behavior in long-term weight maintenance, particularly physical activity and dietary fat consumption. These findings also provide evidence for the importance of psychosocial variables, in particular depressed mood and self-efficacy.

These results give investigators signals as to the variables of importance for targeting in future physical activity trials. Not only are they important in physical activity trials, but also for weight trials. Thus, almost of women in this trial were independently making changes to be successful at weight management without the benefit of direct education and skills provided within the context of behavioral weight loss. Therefore, it is essential to better understand the strategies and steps these women are employing to learn to extend to other individuals.

Better understanding of the intermediate steps women take to lose and maintain weight over a 1-year period can help elucidate the critical mechanisms for successful weight loss and maintenance.

There also are implications for the design and content of both weight management and physical activity interventions. In particular, future interventions should continue to provide education and strategies for improving self-efficacy [ 67 ], particularly in the context of weight loss and maintenance [ 68 ]. Additionally, while treating depression may be outside of the expertise of health promotion professionals, interventions can still provide tools for helping patients improve mood and manage distress.

In particular, mindfulness-based approaches to diet and physical activity are promising adjuncts to traditional behavioral weight control interventions [ 69 , 70 ]. With the high rates of obesity [ 71 — 73 ], there is emerging focus on the importance of understanding individual responses to physical activity and weight loss trials. This study sheds light on individual variables that may help explain why some people experience different long-term patterns of weight change.

These variables also are important for understanding the mechanisms by which individuals maintain long-term weight losses. Future studies are needed to replicate these findings in physical activity intervention trials, as these trials provide a controlled way for understanding what individuals are doing outside of the context of weight loss trials, which is more reflective of the general population.

The results from this study provide further evidence of the importance of continuing to refine our behavior change interventions to assure that they contain the most relevant content and theory-based skill building. By providing this information and skill building, the negative and psychological consequences of weight gain can potentially be averted.

The authors would like to thank the following coinvestigators for their input on the design, implementation, and execution of the project: Anna Albrecht, Bess H. Marcus, Christopher Sciamanna, and Jessica A. Finally, they would like to thank Allison Ives and Jessica Colucci for their help with the paper preparation. Napolitano and Sharon Hayes. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article of the Year Award: Outstanding research contributions of , as selected by our Chief Editors. Read the winning articles. Journal overview. Special Issues. Academic Editor: Neil King. Received 01 Jun Revised 16 Oct Accepted 09 Nov Published 28 Dec Abstract Examining behavioral and psychological factors relating to weight stability over a 1-year period is of public health importance.

Introduction The importance of being physically active has been well documented from a public health perspective, with increased activity associated with reduced risk for the development of chronic health conditions like cardiovascular disease [ 1 — 4 ].

Exclusionary Criteria Healthy, sedentary women between the ages of 18 to 65 years were recruited, with sedentary defined as participating in 90 minutes or less of purposeful physical activity or 61 minutes or less of vigorous physical activity [ 35 ]. Participants A total of women responded to the recruitment strategies for the study.

Figure 1. Indicates variables identified in stepwise discriminant analysis. Table 1. Table 2. References W. Brown, N. Burton, and P. Bucksch and W. Blair and J. Haskell, S. Blair, and J. Deslandes, H. Moraes, C. Ferreira et al. Goldberg and A. Donnelly, S. Blair, J. Jakicic, M. Manore, J. Rankin, and B. Haskell, I. Lee, R. Pate et al. S34—S38, Jakicic, B.

Marcus, W. Lang, and C. Wing and S. View at: Google Scholar S. Phelan, T. Liu, A. Gorin et al. Bond, S. Leahey, J. Hill, and R. Kruger, H. Blanck, and C. A11, View at: Google Scholar B. Needham, E. Epel, N. Adler, and C. Kerr, K. Patrick, G. Norman et al. Dixon, M. The next time you are hungry try to determine whether or not that hunger is coming from your head or your stomach. If it is coming from your head it would suggest that you are using food to cope with things like boredom, anxiety, stress, confusion, frustration, love, anger, etc.

It's time to pinpoint those situations so that you can alter using food and come up with a more healthy way of coping. Trying to find an alternative way of coping is hard but important. Brainstorm other things you can do besides eating and write them down.

The sections above describe some of the most common psychological factors that shape weight issues for our obese clients. It is essential to understand how and why you struggle with eating and your weight in the present day, and this comes from investigating what happened to you in the past.

With this awareness and understanding, we can support you in changing and updating the old patterns that are keeping you rooted in your weight dysfunction.

Every obese individual is different, and you will have your own unique story that explains your struggle with food. For this reason the treatment and support we offer must be tailored to address your individual needs. We have developed different psychological and nutritional services to support you in healing your mind and body.

By addressing your nutrition, lifestyle and mindset, we can help you reach optimal wellness and develop a healthy relationship with food, eating and body image. Please Book A Call with our experienced assessment team who will explain how our services can help you. Or complete the form below, and we will be in touch to arrange a convenient time to speak with you. Here are some of our services that can help you reach a healthy weight and help you redefine your relationship with food.

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If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. Here are some psychological factors that maintain obesity: avoidance of emotions low self-worth poor body image self-criticism negative core beliefs binge eating Cognitive-behavioural strategies CBT can be very effective in helping you calm your eating, improve mood and give you a sense of feeling more in control.

Food script Families have their own rituals, behaviour patterns, beliefs and culture around eating. Body image Our earliest experiences of our body stay with us, and become the foundation blocks of how we see ourselves in the world. Neglect When parents are busy with work, or they lack adequate parenting skills, or they struggle to cope with little money and a large family, the result can often feel like neglect to a child.

Trauma When we are faced with a traumatic event, the initial blast of shock is compounded with a tsunami of chaotic emotions. Abuse Child abuse can come in different forms; sexual, physical, psychological, emotional.

Tell us what is going for you. Let us explain how we can help. Psychological treatment for obesity The sections above describe some of the most common psychological factors that shape weight issues for our obese clients. Talk To Us Come in and meet one of the team for a Free 30 minute session. Let us explain how we can help you. Or simply get in touch with any questions you have.

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