2007 Final Program - Society of Behavioral Medicine

2007 SBM Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions March 21-24, 2007 FINAL PROGRAM
Rapid Communications Posters Friday, March 23, 2007 • 6:30 PM-8:00 PM • Poster Session C
3468
DO THE BENEFITS OF WEIGHT LOSS TREATMENT
OUTWEIGH THE RISKS FOR ELDERLY, OBESE WOMEN?
Lauren Gibbons, BA, Ninoska DeBraganza, MSESS, Vanessa A.
Milsom, MS, Mary E. Murawski, MS, Lisa Nackers, BA, Katie A.
Rickel, MS, Patricia E. Durning, PhD and Michael G. Perri, PhD
Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
Controversy exists regarding whether weight-loss treatment
is advisable in older obese adults, as epidemiological research
suggests that weight loss in the elderly is associated with adverse
consequences. However, weight loss in obese individuals
produces improvements in a variety of health outcomes; thus it is
important to determine whether weight-loss treatment should be
recommended to elderly obese women. The present study sought
to describe the benefits and negative consequences of weight-loss
treatment in elderly obese women and to explore whether outcomes
were equivalent to middle-aged women. Participants were 103
middle-aged (50-59 years) and 44 older (65-74 years) obese women
(mean pre-treatment weights: 97.2 ± 14.5 kg and 92.5 ± 15.0 kg,
respectively) who completed a 6-month lifestyle intervention for
weight loss. Elderly women lost 9.5% ± 5.5% initial body weight,
equivalent to that achieved by middle-aged women (10.0 % ±
5.8%; 95% CI of the difference: -1.6% to 2.5%). Additionally,
elderly women experienced significant improvements in blood
pressure, cholesterol, glycemic control, and inflammation (ps <
0.025). The proportion of older women reporting a musculoskeletal
adverse event (23%) was neither different than, nor equivalent
to, the proportion of middle-aged women (18%). However,
31% of women in the eldest age range (70-74 years) reported an
adverse event as compared to only 18% of the youngest group
(50-54 years). Although this difference did not reach statistical
significance, it suggests that there may be a trend for women over
70 to be at increased risk for musculoskeletal injury as compared
to younger women. In sum, older women experienced clinically
significant weight losses and improvements in risk factors; weight
losses were equivalent to those achieved by middle-aged women.
Additional studies are needed to determine if weight-loss treatment
increases the risk of musculoskeletal injury in elderly obese women,
particularly those over 70 years of age.
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Lauren M. Gibbons, BA,
Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville,
FL, 32601; lgibbons@phhp.ufl.edu
3469
CONTRIBUTIONS OF WEIGHT LOSS AND PHYSICAL
ACTIVITY TO IMPROVEMENTS IN FITNESS AND
METABOLIC PROFILE
Vanessa Milsom, MS, Katie A. Rickel, MS, Ninoska DeBraganza,
MSESS, Lauren M. Gibbons, BA, Lisa Nackers, BA, Patricia E.
Durning, PhD and Michael G. Perri, PhD
Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
Lifestyle treatments for obesity typically promote reductions in
caloric intake coupled with increases in physical activity. However,
few studies have investigated whether changes in physical activity
provide health benefits beyond those associated with weight loss.
The present study examined the impact of weight reduction and
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increased physical activity on physical performance and metabolic
risk factors for disease among 298 obese women (mean BMI
= 36.8+5.0, mean age = 59.3+6.3 years) participating in a 6-
month lifestyle intervention for obesity. Body weight, metabolic
risk factors for disease, and physical performance as measured
by the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT), were assessed pre- and
posttreatment. Participants achieved a mean reduction of 8.9
+ 5.6 kg and experienced significant decreases in systolic blood
pressure (-7.2 mmHg), LDL-cholesterol (-4.7 mg/dL), triglycerides
(-18.8 mg/dL), and HbA1c (-.23%) and a mean increase on the
6MWT of 75.4 feet. Change in weight was significantly associated
with improvements on the 6MWT (r = -.32), and with decreases
in systolic blood pressure (r = .18,), LDL-cholesterol (r = .20),
triglycerides (r = .30), and HbA1c (r = .16). Hierarchical linear
regressions showed that increases in the frequency of moderate
physical activity contributed significantly to improvements in
physical performance and two of four metabolic risk factors,
beyond what was accounted for by weight loss. Increased physical
activity predicted improvements in glycemic control (R square
change = .039, p = .001), systolic blood pressure (R square change
= .018, p = .03) and performance on the 6MWT (R square change
= .014, p = .04). Collectively, these results suggest that increases
in the frequency of moderate physical activity yield meaningful
improvements in physical fitness and metabolic risk factors for
disease, beyond the effect of weight loss. These findings underscore
the importance of increased physical activity in the treatment of
obesity. Supported by NHLBI R18HL73326
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Vanessa Milsom, MS, Clinical
and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL,
32610-0165; vmilsom@phhp.ufl.edu
3470
FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO CHILDHOOD
OVERWEIGHT: UNDERSTANDING MOM’S PERSPECTIVE
Pamela W. Lee, PhD, Cecelia A. Gaffney, MEd and Ardis L. Olson,
MD
Community & Family Medicine, Dartmouth Medical School,
Lebanon, NH.
Introduction: The goals of this qualitative study were to: (1) better
understand the attitudes and beliefs of mothers regarding factors
that contribute to overweight in children, and (2) discover issues
regarded by mothers as important to childhood overweight that
are not being included in pediatric counseling approaches. In the
future, the information learned from these interviews will be used
to inform the development of effective weight-related counseling
messages for pediatric health providers.
Methods: Seventeen mothers, with at least one child, aged 4
through 10 years, who is overweight, participated in open-ended,
semi-structured interviews concerning factors that contribute to
overweight in children. Interviews were audio-taped and transcribed
verbatim. Transcripts were read independently by two researchers
who identified salient themes raised by the interviewees.
Results: Mothers identified a complex array of factors as
contributory to childhood overweight. Mothers valued good
nutrition and physically active lifestyles and viewed these issues
as vital to children maintaining healthy weight. Parenting skills
emerged as a key factor in managing child weight. Mothers