Issue: January 2013
November 13, 2012
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DPP: Pre-treatment characteristics predicted weight outcomes

Issue: January 2013
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Recent data released from the Diabetes Prevention Program demonstrate that pre-treatment characteristics, weight history, psychological and behavioral predictors, and changes to cognitive and behavioral factors play an important role in predicting weight outcomes.

Linda M. Delahanty, MS, RD, and other researchers utilized 25% of the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) patients in the lifestyle intervention group (n=274) who completed questionnaires to assess their weight history and psychological and behavioral factors at baseline and 6 months.

Delahanty, of the department of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital Diabetes Center, and colleagues conducted t tests and multivariate models to determine the association of weight loss with pre-treatment characteristics.

According to data, greater exercise self-efficacy and dietary restraint, fewer high-fat dietary behaviors and more sedentary activity levels were independent, modifiable, pre-treatment predictors for obtaining a 7% weight-loss goal at the end of the study. Furthermore, at baseline, lower activity levels were linked to greater increases in activity (P<.0001), researchers wrote.

They also discovered that fewer previous formal weight-loss programs and less frequent emotional eating were found to be positive predictors for obtaining 7% weight loss at 6 months. However, this was not the case at the end of the study.

Patients with more previous weight-loss attempts tended to be younger when they first became overweight, with more frequent weight cycling, more cravings, and felt deprived when dieting and less competent at weight loss at baseline (all P<.0001).

“Although baseline and early changes in perceived stress, feelings of being deprived while dieting, binge eating severity, weight loss self-sufficiency, and exercise self-sufficiency were significantly (P<.05) associated with the ability to achieve weight loss outcomes at 6 months and end of study, these variables were not independent predictors of weight outcomes when confounders were eliminated,” they wrote.Delahanty and colleagues suggest further research based on these findings to improve strategies to enhance weight-loss outcomes.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.