Challenging body weight: evidence from a community-based intervention on weight, behaviour and motivation

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a 12 week weight loss intervention within a commercial fitness centre on body weight, moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), dietary intake, and behavioural regulations for exercise and healthy eating. Using a quasi-experimental design, the intervention group received weekly coaching sessions and bi-weekly seminars designed to increase MVPA and improve dietary intake. Outcome variables were assessed at three time points over a six month period. Results showed a significant interaction for body weight (p = .04) and dietary changes (p < .05) following the weight loss challenge but were not maintained across the six month period. Changes in behavioural regulations favoured the intervention condition. Results imply that a 12 week weight loss challenge within a commercial fitness centre may be effective at prompting short-term weight loss and support the internalization of behavioural regulations specific to healthy eating and exercise.

Can Interpersonal Behavior Influence the Persistence and Adherence to Physical Exercise Practice in Adults? A Systematic Review

“…The results demonstrate a significant relationship between more autonomous regulations and exercise practice (Wilson et al, 2003 ; Edmunds et al, 2006 , 2007 ; Ingledew and Markland, 2008 ; Standage et al, 2008 ; Ingledew et al, 2009 ; Rodgers et al, 2010 ; Mack et al, 2015 ; Heiestad et al, 2016 ; Sibley and Bergman, 2016 ; Blais et al, 2017 ; Sylvester et al, 2018 ), enhanced well-being (Teixeira and Palmeira, 2015 ), enhanced intention to exercise practice (Wilson and Rodgers, 2004 ; Thogersen-Ntoumani and Ntoumanis, 2006 ; Edmunds et al, 2008 ; Ng et al, 2013 ) and greater adherence (Puente and Anshel, 2010 ; Silva et al, 2010 , 2011 ; Rosa et al, 2015 ). Therefore, exercisers, whose motivation is more self-determined, tend to maintain their behavior, hence being more prone to exercise over the long-run.…”

“…According to Table 3 , this type of regulation mainly shows positive associations favoring different exercise behaviors, with solely three studies presenting no significant results. As a matter of fact, intrinsic motivation plays a major role for the exercisers to be able perform exercise spontaneously, to experience pleasure, to challenge themselves and to facilitate the behavior maintenance in the long term (Edmunds et al, 2008 ; Gast et al, 2011 ; Blais et al, 2017 ).…”

“…External regulation, the least self-determined one, is associated with behavioral dropout (Klain et al, 2015 ; Blais et al, 2017 ). Thus, when individuals engage in exercise practice only as a mean of obtaining an external reward, the chances of dropping out the behavior increase dramatically, as the results become dependent of factors one cannot control (Rodgers et al, 2010 ).…”

Toward brief tools assessing motivation for exercise: Rationale and development of a six- and 12-item version of the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise 3 (BREQ3) Questionnaire.

“…There is evidence that the BREQ scores demonstrate invariance for gender (Guérin et al, 2012) and that self-determined regulations (i.e., intrinsic, integrated, and identified), as measured by the BREQ, are more positively associated with self-reported exercise and physical activity (Owen et al, 2014). Further, the BREQ has been successfully used in intervention-based research to measure changes in motivation toward physical activity (e.g., Blais et al, 2017; Martin et al, 2015).…”

Adult weight management across the community: population‐level impact of the LOSE IT to WIN IT challenge

“…Evaluations of their performance, however, are quite limited. Most published community programs are community‐based, meaning they are conducted in non‐clinical settings or are otherwise designed for specialized groups within the community . Programs targeting entire defined communities are rarer.…”