Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Self-Expansion is Associated with Better Adherence and Obesity Treatment Outcomes in Adults

  • Brief Report
  • Published:
Annals of Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

Background

Previous studies have shown that self-expansion (e.g., increasing positive self-content via engaging in novel, rewarding activities) is associated with smoking cessation and attenuated cigarette-cue reactivity.

Purpose

This study examined whether self-expansion is associated with better adherence, weight loss, and physical activity (PA) outcomes within a weight loss intervention.

Methods

Participants from Shape Up Rhode Island 2012, a Web-based community wellness initiative, took part in a randomized controlled trial that involved a 12-week behavioral weight loss intervention [1]. At baseline and post-intervention, objective weights and self-reported self-expansion and PA were obtained from 239 participants. Treatment adherence was assessed objectively.

Results

Self-expansion during treatment was significantly associated with percent weight loss including clinically significant weight loss (i.e., 5 %), minutes of PA, and treatment adherence. These results held after controlling for relevant covariates.

Conclusions

This is the first study to show that self-expansion is associated with better behavioral weight loss outcomes including weight loss, adherence, and PA. These results suggest that self-expansion is a promising novel target for future research which could inform health interventions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Leahey TM, Subak L, Fava J, et al. Benefits of adding small financial incentives or optional group meetings to a web-based statewide obesity initiative. Obesity. 2014; 23: 70-76.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Aron A, Aron EN, Norman C. The self-expansion model of motivation and cognition in close relationships and beyond. In: Clark M, Fletcher G, eds. Blackwell Handbook in Social Psychology, Vol. 2: Interpersonal Processes. Oxford, England: Blackwell; 2001: 478-501.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Mattingly BA, McIntyre KP, Lewandowski GW Jr. Approach motivation and the expansion of self in close relationships. Pers Relat. 2012; 19: 113-127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Mattingly BA, Lewandowski GW Jr. An expanded self is a more capable self: The association between self-concept size and self-efficacy. Self Identity. 2013; 12: 621-634.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Mattingly BA, Lewandowski GW Jr. The power of one: Benefits of individual self-expansion. J Posit Psychol. 2013; 8: 12-22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Xu X, Floyd AHL, Westmaas JL, Aron A. Self-expansion and smoking abstinence. Addict Behav. 2010; 35: 295-301.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Xu X, Aron A, Westmaas JL, Wang J, Sweet LH. An fMRI study of nicotine-deprived smokers’ reactivity to smoking cues during novel/exciting activity. PLoS ONE. 2014; 9, e94598.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Bhaskaran K, Douglas I, Forbes H, dos-Santos-Silva I, Leon DA, Smeeth L. Body-mass index and risk of 22 specific cancers: A population-based cohort study of 5.24 million UK adults. Lancet. 2014; 384: 755-765.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Mokdad AH, Ford ES, Bowman BA, et al. Prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and obesity-related health risk factors, 2001. JAMA. 2003; 289: 76-79.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Adams KF, Schatzkin A, Harris TB, et al. Overweight, obesity, and mortality in a large prospective cohort of persons 50 to 71 years old. N Engl J Med. 2006; 355: 763-778.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Leahey TM, Thomas G, Fava JL, et al. Adding evidence-based behavioral weight loss strategies to a statewide wellness campaign: A randomized trial. Am J Public Health. 2014; 104: 1300-1306.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. The diabetes prevention program: Description of the lifefstyle intervention. Diabetes Care. 2002; 25: 2165-2171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Lewandowski, GW Jr., Aron A. The self-expansion scale: Construction and validation. Poster presented at: The Society of Personality and Social Psychology Annual Meeting; February 2002; Savannah, GA.

  14. Paffenbarger RS Jr, Wing AL, Hyde RT. Physical activity as an index of heart attack risk in college alumni. Am J Epidemiol. 1978; 108: 161-175.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Wing RR, Lang W, Wadden TA, et al. Benefits of modest weight loss in improving cardiovascular risk factors in overweight and obese individuals with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2011; 34: 1481-1486.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Hayes AF. Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. NY: The Guilford Press; 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Buscemi J, Murphy JG, Berlin KS, Raynor HA. A behavioral economic analysis of changes in food-related and food-free reinforcement during weight loss treatment. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2014; 82: 659-669.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We recognize the contributions of the following staff at the Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center at The Miriam Hospital and the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University: Linda Gay, RD; Elizabeth Kuhl, PhD; Pamela Coward, MEd; Kelley Strohacker, PhD; Richard Daniello; Michelle Fisher, RN; Deborah Ranslow-Robles; and Kevin O’Leary, MS. We also recognize the contributions of the following staff at Shape Up Rhode Island: Robert Vitek and Jenna Lafayette. We also thank Claudio Nigg, PhD, for his comments on an early draft of this manuscript.

This study was supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (5R18DK083248-04). The funding source had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, or interpretation of the data; or the preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript. The ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier for the study is NCT01560130.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Idaho State University, 921 S. 8th Ave, Stop 8112, Pocatello, ID, 83209, USA

    Xiaomeng Xu PhD

  2. Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA

    Tricia M. Leahey PhD

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    Katherine Boguszewski MA

  4. Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University/Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center, The Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI, USA

    Katie Krupel MS, Kimberly A. Mailloux BA & Rena R. Wing PhD

Authors
  1. Xiaomeng Xu PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tricia M. Leahey PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Katherine Boguszewski MA
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Katie Krupel MS
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Kimberly A. Mailloux BA
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Rena R. Wing PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiaomeng Xu PhD.

Ethics declarations

Authors’ Statement of Conflict of Interest and Adherence to Ethical Standards

Author Tricia Leahey is Chief Scientist and a paid consultant at WayBetter, Inc. Her work with WayBetter is unrelated to this project. The remaining authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

All authors verify that this research was carried out with adherence to appropriate ethical standards (e.g., those set by the American Psychological Association). Specifically, the research was approved by The Miriam Hospital’s Institutional Review Board, all study personnel completed appropriate ethical training, and all participants provided written informed consent to be part of the study.

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Xu, X., Leahey, T.M., Boguszewski, K. et al. Self-Expansion is Associated with Better Adherence and Obesity Treatment Outcomes in Adults. ann. behav. med. 51, 13–17 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-016-9823-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-016-9823-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation