Behavior Modification in the Treatment of Obesity

Abstract

Current interest in behavior modification has extended to the treatment of obesity and the results of two recent applications of this technology have been encouraging. The present study compared behavior modification in groups with traditional group psychotherapy in a sample of 32 obese patients. Each of two groups treated with behavior modification lost more weight than a matched control group treated with traditional group therapy. Furthermore, 13% of the patients treated oy behavior modification lost more than 40 pounds and 53% lost more than 20 oounds, results which rank with the best in the medical literature. We conclude that behavior modification may represent a significant advance in the treatment of obesity."Most obese persons will not stay in treatment for obesity. Of those who stay in treatment most will not lose weight and of those who do lose weight, most will regain it" (1). Until recently, this summary of the results of outpatient treatment for obesity has been unchallenged. Reports in the medical literature agree that no more than 25% of obese persons entering treatment will lose as much as 20 pounds and only 5% will lose as much as 40 pounds.The current interest in behavior modification and the evidence of its effectiveness in the control of several conditions rendered inevitable its application to the problems of overeating and obesity. Yet the results of the first such application, by Ferster (2) were disappointing. The modal From the

Presidential Address-1974: From Explanation to Action in Psychosomatic Medicine: The Case of Obesity

“…Interestingly, all three studies were of mildly overweight college students. Two others, on the other hand, confirmed Harris' finding of continuing weight loss following treatment (45,61). Each utilized moderately to severely obese subjects and reported follow-ups of substantial duration-1 year.…”

“…The control of experimenter bias will require methods tailored to the special needs and opportunities of this kind of research. One such method, deceptive in its simplicity, was introduced by Penick et al (61).…”

The Effect of a Token Economy on Dietary Compliance for Children on Hemodialysis

“…Behavioral approaches have been reported to be effective with other types of dietary problems such as obesity (Penick, Filion, Fox, and Stunkard, 1971;Stuart and Davis, 1972;Stunkard, 1972) and anorexia nervosa (Bachrach, Erwin, and Mohr, 1965;Stunkard, 1972 (Zifferblatt, 1975 Subject 3, who was 13 yr old, weight 62 lb and Subject 4, who was 18 yr old, weight 93 lb. The 18-yr-old subject was maintained on a pediatric unit because she was observed to be socially immature and intellectually slightly below average.…”

Analysis of factors contributing to long-term success among graduates of aresidential weight management program for women

“…The techniques have typically included daily record keeping of food intake, restricting the cues that signal eating (e.g., eating in one place and keeping snacks to a minimum), and decreasing the rate of eating (Ferster et al, 1962;Penick et al, 1971;Stuart, 1967). Long-term analysis, however, suggests only moderate success (Stunkard & Penick, 1979), e.g., in most of the behavior modification programs weight losses of better than 6.4 kg were not maintained even for 1 year (Beneke, Paulsen, McReynolds, & Lutz, 1978;Oest & Goettestam, 1976;Wing & Jeffrey, 1979).…”