Date Available

12-4-2014

Year of Publication

2014

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Document Type

Master's Thesis

College

Agriculture, Food and Environment

Department/School/Program

Dietetics and Human Nutrition

First Advisor

Dr. Kelly Webber

Abstract

While traditional behavioral weight loss programs have been successful at producing weight loss, weight maintenance is difficult to achieve. Addressing stress, one major contributing factor in weight gain, may be a potential solution. The purpose of this study was to test a stress-management program (EBT) for changes in weight and blood pressure, and maintenance of those changes. Obese adults (N=33) were randomized to two weight loss groups for a seven-week intervention and a seven-week follow-up period: an intuitive eating group or a stress management group. The intuitive eating group did not have any statistically significant changes in weight or blood pressure at seven or 14 weeks. The stress management group had significant changes at seven weeks in weight (p=0.05) and systolic (p=0.005) and diastolic (p=0.05) blood pressure. Weight decreased by 2.9 pounds at seven weeks and decreased a total of 4.4 pounds over the 14 weeks (p=0.05) in the EBT group. The EBT approach appears promising for weight loss and weight maintenance. More research with larger samples sizes and longer trial periods need to be done in order to draw a conclusion on the usefulness of this intervention.

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