Cognitive rehearsal in the treatment of obesity: a comparison against cue avoidance and social pressure.

The effects of a cognitive (cognitive rehearsal) in the treatment of obesity were evaluated in a 16-week weight reduction programme by comparison against two other treatments, cue avoidance, and social pressure. Fifty-three obese females, categorised (on the basis of their weight loss after 3 weeks of dieting) as either high losers or low losers, were randomly assigned to one of these three treatments. Posttreatment weight losses were significantly greater for high losers than low losers, and for subjects in cue avoidance than those in social pressure. Those in cue avoidance went over their diet less often than others, and reported greater changes in eating habits, and in the cognitive domain. Neither subject type nor treatment type has a significant effect on weight change during the follow-up year. High losers adhered to the diet more initially, but also, throughout treatment, lost more weight for the same degree of dietary adherence. Behavioural and physiological characteristics underlying this important dimension of individual differences were discussed.