Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T05:33:47.079Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

How do people achieve and remain at a comfortable weight?: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2013

Sarah Alsawy  and
Warren Mansell
Sarah Alsawy*
Affiliation:
School of Psychological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
Warren Mansell
Affiliation:
School of Psychological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
*
*Address for correspondence: Miss S. Alsawy, School of Psychological Sciences, Coupland I, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK (email: sarah.alsawy@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study aimed to examine how people change in order to achieve and maintain a personally comfortable weight and what changes for them as they change. Six students who changed to achieve and maintain a personally comfortable weight for a minimum of 1 year were recruited. Semi-structured interviews explored participants’ experiences of what changed and how they changed. The interviews were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Two superordinate themes emerged. The first was ‘awareness’ which contained the subthemes: unaware self, revelation, and conscious monitoring and maintenance of awareness. The second was ‘goals and needs’ which contained the subthemes: social- vs. self-acceptance, removing negative emotions, weight control vs. other life goals, and ideal vs. perceived health and appearance. The findings are discussed in relation to the existing literature on the development of eating problems, involving social acceptance, self-esteem, coping with negative moods, and weight control. Perceptual Control Theory was used to provide an explanation for how these participants changed and maintained their change.

Keywords

Acceptancecontroleating disordersqualitative methodsrecovery style
Type
Original Research
Information
the Cognitive Behaviour Therapist , Volume 6 , 2013 , e13
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Recommended follow-up reading

Elfhag, K, Rössner, S (2005). Who succeeds in maintaining weight loss? A conceptual review of factors associated with weight loss maintenance and regain. Obesity Reviews 6, 67–85.Google Scholar
Fairburn, CG, Cooper, Z, Shafran, R (2003). Cognitive behaviour therapy for eating disorders: a ‘transdiagnostic’ theory and treatment. Behaviour Research and Therapy 41, 509–528.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Powers, WT (2005). Behavior: The Control of Perception, 2nd edn. New Canaan, CT: Benchmark.Google Scholar

References

APA (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Text Revision, 4th edn. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association.Google Scholar
Bowden, EM, Jung-Beeman, M, Fleck, J, Kounios, J (2005). New approaches to demystifying insight. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 9, 322–328.Google Scholar
Bruch, H (1973). Eating Disorders: Obesity, Anorexia Nervosa, and the Person Within. United States: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Byrne, S, Cooper, Z, Fairburn, C (2003). Weight maintenance and relapse in obesity: a qualitative study. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 27, 955–962.Google Scholar
Carey, TA (2008). Perceptual control theory and the method of levels: further contributions to a transdiagnostic perspective. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy 1, 237–255.Google Scholar
Carey, TA, Carey, M, Stalker, K, Mullan, RJ, Murray, LK, Spratt, MB (2007). Psychological change from the inside looking out: a qualitative investigation. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research 37, 311–324.Google Scholar
Carter, JC, Blackmore, E, Sutandar-Pinnock, K, Woodside, DB (2004). Relapse in anorexia nervosa: a survival analysis. Psychological Medicine 34, 671–679.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Day, J, Ternouth, A, Collier, DA (2009). Eating disorders and obesity: two sides of the same coin? Epidemiologia a Psichiatria Sociale 18, 96–100.Google Scholar
Elfhag, K, Rössner, S (2005). Who succeeds in maintaining weight loss? A conceptual review of factors associated with weight loss maintenance and regain. Obesity Reviews 6, 67–85.Google Scholar
Fairburn, CG, Cooper, Z, Shafran, R (2003). Cognitive behaviour therapy for eating disorders: a ‘transdiagnostic’ theory and treatment. Behaviour Research and Therapy 41, 509–528.Google Scholar
Fairburn, CG, Shafran, R, Cooper, Z (1998). A cognitive behavioural theory of anorexia nervosa. Behaviour Research and Therapy 37, 1–13.Google Scholar
Festinger, L (1957). A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Evanston, IL: Row, Peterson.Google Scholar
Gianakis, M, Carey, TA (2011). An interview study investigating experiences of psychological change without psychotherapy. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice 84, 442–457.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grilo, CM, Masheb, RM, White, MA (2010). Significance of overevaluation of shape/weight in binge-eating disorder: comparative study with overweight and bulimia nervosa. Obesity 18, 499–504.Google Scholar
Hayes, SC, Strosahl, K, Wilson, KG, Bissett, RT, Pistorello, J, Toarmino, D, McCurry, SM (2004). Measuring experiential avoidance: a preliminary test of a working model. Psychological Record 54, 553–578.Google Scholar
Heatherton, TF, Baumeister, RF (1991). Binge eating as escape from self-awareness. Psychological Bulletin 110, 86–108.Google Scholar
Higginson, S, Mansell, W (2008). What is the mechanism of psychological change? A qualitative analysis of six individuals who experienced personal change and recovery. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory Research and Practice 81, 309–328.Google Scholar
Information Centre for Health and Social Care, NHS (2013). Statistics on obesity, physical activity and diet: England, 2013. Health and Social Care Information Centre: National Statistics.Google Scholar
Institute of Medicine (1995). Weighing the Options: Criteria for Evaluating Weight Management Programs. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
Johnson, F, Wardle, J (2005). Dietary restraint, body dissatisfaction, and psychological distress: a prospective analysis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 114, 119–125.Google Scholar
Kaplan, AS (2002). Psychological treatment for anorexia nervosa: a review of published studies and promising new directions. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 47, 235–242.Google Scholar
Kayman, S, Bruvold, W, Stern, JS (1990). Maintenance and relapse after weight loss in women: Behavioral aspects. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 52, 800–807.Google Scholar
Kelly, GA (1955). The Psychology of Personal Constructs (vols. 1 and 2). New York, NY: Norton.Google Scholar
Killick, S, Allen, C (1998). ‘Shifting the balance’ – motivational interviewing to help behaviour change in people with bulimia nervosa. European Eating Disorders Review 5, 33–41.Google Scholar
Marques, JF, McCall, C (2005). The application of interrater reliability as solidification instrument in a phenomenological study. Qualitative Report 10, 439–462.Google Scholar
Murphy, R, Straebler, S, Cooper, Z, Fairburn, CG (2010). Cognitive behavioral therapy for eating disorders. Psychiatric Clinics of North America 33, 611–627.Google Scholar
National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (2004). Eating Disorders: Core Interventions in the Treatment and Management of Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders. London: The British Psychological Society & The Royal College of Psychiatrists.Google Scholar
Neumark-Sztainer, D, Paxton, SJ, Hannan, PJ, Haines, J, Story, M (2006). Does body satisfaction matter? Five-year longitudinal associations between body satisfaction and health behaviours in adolescent females and males. Journal of Adolescent Health 39, 244–251.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
NICE (2006). Obesity: guidance on the prevention, identification, assessment and management of overweight and obesity in adults and children. Clinical guideline 43. National Institute of Clinical Excellence.Google Scholar
Pike, KM, Walsh, BT, Vitousek, K, Wilson, GT, Bauer, J (2003). Cognitive behavior therapy in the posthospitalization treatment of anorexia nervosa. American Journal of Psychiatry 160, 2046–2049.Google Scholar
Pollak, KI, Alexander, SC, Coffman, CJ, Tulsky, JA, Lyna, P, Dolor, RJ, Ostbye, T (2010). Physician communication techniques and weight loss in adults: project CHAT. American Journal of Preventative Medicine 39, 321–328.Google Scholar
Powers, WT (2005). Behavior: The Control of Perception, 2nd edn. New Canaan, CT: Benchmark.Google Scholar
Price-Evans, K, Treasure, J (2011). The use of motivational interviewing in anorexia nervosa. Child and Adolescent Mental Health 16, 65–70.Google Scholar
Ratner, C (1997). Cultural Psychology and Qualitative Methodology: Theoretical and Empirical Consideration. New York, NY: Plenum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ryan, RM, Deci, EL (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist 55, 68–78.Google Scholar
Shaw, K, O'Rourke, P, Del Mar, C, Kenardy, J (2006). Psychological interventions for overweight or obesity [Review]. The Cochrane Collaboration, Issue 4.Google Scholar
Smith, JA (1996). Beyond the divide between cognition and discourse: using interpretative phenomenological analysis in health psychology. Psychology & Health 11, 261–271.Google Scholar
Smith, JA, Osborn, M (2003). Interpretative phenomenological analysis. In: Qualitative Psychology: A Practical Guide to Research Method (ed. Smith, J. A.), pp. 51–80. London UK: Sage.Google Scholar
Teixeira, PJ, Silva, MN, Mata, J, Palmeira, AL, Markland, D (2012). Motivation, self-determination, and long-term weight control. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 9, 22–35.Google Scholar
Tsai, AG, Wadden, TA (2005). Systematic review: an evaluation of major commercial weight loss programs in the United States. Annals of Internal Medicine 142, 56–66.Google Scholar
Van den Broucke, S, Vandereycken, W, Norré, J (1997). Eating Disorders and Marital Relationships. London, UK: Routledge.Google Scholar
West, DS, DiLillo, V, Bursac, Z, Gore, SA, Greene, PG (2007). Motivational interviewing improves weight loss in women with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 30, 1081–1087.Google Scholar
WHO (2000). Obesity: Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic (WHO Technical Report Series). Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.Google Scholar
WHO (2004). Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.Google Scholar
Winter, DA, Button, EJ (2010). A personal construct perspective on control in eating disorders. In: Cognitive Therapy of Eating Disorders on Control and Worry. Eating Disorders in the 21st Century (ed. Sassaroli, S. and Ruggiero, G.), pp. 29–42. New York, NY: Nova Publishers.Google Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.