Reductions in internal disinhibition during weight loss predict better weight loss maintenance
Open accessAbstract
The construct of disinhibition, as measured by the Eating Inventory, was recently found to have two factors: internal disinhibition (eating in response to cognitive and emotional cues) and external disinhibition (eating in response to environmental cues). This study examined whether early changes in disinhibition that occurred during a weight loss program predicted later weight loss maintenance. Participants were adults enrolled in a weight loss treatment study (n = 81, 16% men, BMI = 38.4 ± 6.5 kg/m 2). Two‐thirds of participants were African Americans. Participants received a uniform, meal‐replacement‐based weight loss program in months 1–3 and one of four nutritionally focused programs for weight loss maintenance in months 4–12. Disinhibition and weight were assessed at clinic visits. Change in internal disinhibition from months 1–3 (i.e., the weight loss period) significantly predicted change in weight from month 4 to 12 (i.e., the weight maintenance period); this remained significant when treatment group, age, gender, ethnicity, baseline weight, baseline depression, baseline internal disinhibition, and initial weight loss were controlled for (P = 0.03). A comparable analysis examining change in external disinhibition found that it was not a significant predictor of weight maintenance (P = 0.43). Participants who experienced the biggest decreases in internal disinhibition during the initial phase of treatment had the most success maintaining their weight loss in the next phase of treatment. Long‐term weight loss outcomes may be improved by spending sufficient treatment time teaching strategies for reducing eating in response to internal cues.
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High disinhibition is linked to worse results in weight-loss programs.
“it has been found that those with high disinhibition display poorer outcomes in weight loss programs.39,40”
From The mind your health project: a randomized controlled trial of an innovative behavioral treatment for obesity (2013) · cites this paper as [40]
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- Authors
- Butryn, M. L., Thomas, J. G., & Lowe, M. R.
- Affiliations
- Drexel University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Butryn, Meghan L.
- Venue
- Obesity
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2009-05
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 1101-1103
- ISSN
- 1930-7381 (ISSN-L)
- 1930-739X
- PMC
- PMC5524144
- OpenAlex
- W2093179299
- Cited by
- 55
- References
- 9
- Citations by year
- 2025: 3 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 4.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Obesity (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (DK066759, R01DK066759)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Keywords
- weight loss maintenance, dietary habits, obesity treatment outcomes, African American adults
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Behavior Therapy, Counseling, Feeding Behavior, Female, Humans, Male, Perception, Predictive Value of Tests, Telephone, Weight Loss, Body Mass Index, Overweight
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