Predicting program attendance and weight loss in obesity interventions: Do triggering events help?. (September 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Borgatti, Alena; Tang, Ziting; Tan, Fei; Salvy, Sarah-Jeanne; Dutton, Gareth
• Is Part Of: Journal of health psychology. Volume 26:Number 11(2021)
• Page Start: 2056
• Page End: 2061
• Publication Date: 2021-09
• Subjects: medical event -- motivation -- obesity -- treatment -- weight loss; Clinical health psychology -- Periodicals; 613.019
• DOI: 10.1177/1359105319887800
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1359-1053

Abstract

Medical events that "trigger" motivation to lose weight may improve treatment outcomes compared to non-medical or no triggering events. However, previous findings include only long-term successful participants, not those initiating treatment. The current study compared those with medical triggering events or non-medical triggering events to no triggering events on attendance and weight loss during a weight management program. Medical-triggering-event participants lost 1.8 percent less weight ( p = 0.03) than no-triggering-event participants. Non-medical-triggering-event participants attended 1.45 more sessions ( p = 0.04) and were 1.83 times more likely to complete the program ( p = 0.03) than no-triggering-event participants. These findings fail to support the benefit of medical triggering events when beginning treatment for obesity.