Relations of self-regulation and self-efficacy for exercise and eating and BMI change: A field investigation

Adults with severe obesity (N = 95; mean BMI = 40.5 ± 3.9 kg/m2) participated in a 6-month exercise and nutrition treatment emphasizing self-regulatory skills. Changes in self-regulatory skills usage, self-efficacy, overall mood, and BMI were measured. Relations of changes in self-regulatory skill use and self-efficacy, for both physical activity and appropriate eating, were assessed, as was the possibility of mood change being a mediator of these relationships. Indirect effects of the variables associated with the present treatment on BMI change were then estimated.For both exercise and appropriate eating, changes in self-regulation were associated with self-efficacy change. Mood change partially mediated the relationship between changes in self-regulation for appropriate eating and self-efficacy for appropriate eating. Self-efficacy changes for physical activity and controlled eating, together, explained a significant portion of the variance in BMI change (R2 = 0.26, p < 0.001). The total indirect effect of the treatment on BMI change was 0.20.Findings suggest that training in self-regulation for exercise and eating may benefit self-efficacy and weight-loss outcomes. Thus, these variables should be considered in both the theory and behavioral treatment of obesity.Results of standard weight-loss treatments have been disappointing [1]. Although regular exercise and appropriate eating will manage weight, individuals are not typically able to successfully negotiate common barriers such as time pressures, discomfort, and social pressures, over time, and typically regain any weight lost in short order [2]. This pattern is so typical that treatments are usually evaluated by percentage of weight regained, rather that if weight loss is maintained [3]. Because of poor prospects with such approaches, surgeries such as gastrointestinal bypass, vertical banded gastroplasty, and laparoscopic gastric banding are increasingly the weight-loss treatments of choice for those with cl