Weight Loss and Self-Regulatory Eating Efficacy in Older Adults: The Cooperative Lifestyle Intervention Program

OBJECTIVES. Using the weight efficacy lifestyle questionnaire (WEL), we examined whether a group-mediated intervention for weight loss among older, obese adults resulted in changes in self-regulatory self-efficacy for eating behavior and whether these changes mediated weight loss. METHODS. This was a randomized controlled design, and 288 older adults received 1 of 3 treatments for 6 months: physical activity only (PA), weight loss + physical activity (WL + PA), or a successful aging (SA) health education program. The WEL was administered prior to randomization and again at the 6-month follow-up visit. RESULTS. A significant treatment effect was observed for the WEL, F (2,249) = 15.11, p < .0001, partial eta(2) = .11, showing that improvement occurred only in the WL + PA group as compared with PA and SA. Changes in WEL scores partially mediated the effects of the WL + PA intervention on weight loss. DISCUSSION. These results illustrate that WL + PA can be effective in improving older adults’ self-efficacy for the self-regulation of eating behavior and that these changes are prospectively related to the amount of weight loss. Further research is warranted on an expanded concept of self-efficacy as well as controlled experimental studies on eating behavior in older adults.