LONG-TERM EFFICACY OF A BEHAVIOR-MODIFICATION WEIGHT-LOSS PROGRAM - COMPARISON OF 2 FOLLOW-UP MAINTENANCE STRATEGIES

Eight extension home economists, trained in the use of a behavioral weight loss program which emphasized stimulus control, treated a total of 148 overweight women in groups of about 10 subjects each. One hundred eleven subjects completed 20 weeks of treatment, losing a mean of 7.85 kg. These subjects were then assigned to one of two posttreatment maintenance conditions differing in the amount and fading of group contact over an 18-month follow-up period. There were no differences in weight maintenance between follow-up strategies. Significant differences among therapists were found for overall weight loss and for loss of subjects from treatment groups. © 1979 Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy.