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Onderzoekers vinden patroon om blijvend af te vallen.*
Bij vrouwen die ca. 10% gewicht verloren hadden en dit
gewichtsverlies tenminste een jaar vol hielden bleek eenzelfde patroon te
bestaan om dit vol te houden. Het patroon bestaat uit verschillende delen. Ten
eerste bleek dat deze vrouwen voordat ze met afvallen begonnen onzeker en
onbekend waren met problemen die zich voor zouden kunnen doen tijdens het
afvallen.
Ten tweede herkenden ze de problemen en waren ze bereid actie
en beslissingen te nemen om iets te veranderen.
Ten derde gingen ze zichzelf actief bezig houden met de
veranderde leefgewoonten.
Verder maakten ze zich de nieuwe gewoontes, al dan niet met
hulp, eigen met als resultaat meer zelfvertrouwen en meer gevoel van
eigenwaarde. Pas dan was men in staat dit patroon jaren vol te houden.
Eighteen women who maintained
a weight loss of 15 to 144 pounds for at least one year and as long as 27
years followed similar patterns leading to consistent behavior change,
according to a study published in the Nursing Science Quarterly
Diane Berry, a postdoctoral
fellow at Yale School of Nursing, interviewed 20 women in the study. Seventeen
of the women were enrolled in two popular weight loss programs.
Eighteen of the women had lost
10 percent of their body weight and maintained that weight loss for at least
one year. Berry included in her study two women who were unable to maintain
weight loss as contrasting cases. These two women, as well as one woman who
kept the weight off, were not enrolled in a weight loss support program. Berry
said she found six similar patterns among the women who were successful.
In pattern one, before losing
weight, the women were self-conscious, vulnerable, and unaware of events that
contributed to their weight gain. Pattern two revealed recognition of a
problem, a readiness to take action, and a decision to make a change. "In
the third pattern," Berry said, "women took control and actively
engaged in behavior change."
In patterns four to six, the
women incorporated new behaviors, used some type of support system to
reinforce the behavior change, and, finally, experienced increased confidence,
self-esteem, and control of their lives.
"Participants moved
fluidly through one pattern to the next and many times fell back to a previous
pattern before moving on," Berry said. "Once participants moved to
the sixth pattern, they were able to maintain weight loss."
In addition to membership in a
weight loss support program, all of the women who maintained their weight loss
had incorporated exercise into their lifestyles.
"The women who maintained
their weight loss were more aware of their trigger foods and portion sizes,
and they all exercised regularly," Berry said. "They also recognized
it is something they will have to work at for the rest of their lives."
Citation: Nursing Science Quarterly, Vol. 17: pp 242-252. (juli 2004)