THE INDIVIDUAL AND COMBINED EFFECTS OF COGNITIVE THERAPY AND NUTRITION EDUCATION AS ADDITIONS TO A BEHAVIOR-MODIFICATION PROGRAM FOR WEIGHT-LOSS

This study examined the effectiveness of the addition of cognitive and nutritional interventions to a behavioral treatment for obesity. Sixty-nine overweight subjects were randomly assigned to either behavior therapy plus cognitive therapy (BT + CT), behavior therapy plus nutrition education (BT + NE), behavior therapy plus cognitive therapy and nutrition education (BT + CT + NE), or behavior therapy plus social support (BT). Repeated measures multivariate analyses of variance indicated that there were significant differences across time, but not between treatment conditions, for physiological measures of obesity. The effects of the behavioral intervention resulted in a significant increase in reported usage of behavioral weight control techniques. Cognitive groups reported more adaptive weight-related cognitions than noncognitive groups, and all treatment groups demonstrated a significant increase in adaptive thoughts about weight. A significant time main effect for nutrition indicated that positive change in diet existed for subjects regardless of treatment. These results highlight the need for comprehensive pretreatment assessment and individualized treatment for obesity. © 1991.