Associations Between Body Mass Index, Body Image Satisfaction, and Self-Weighing During a Behavioral Weight Loss Program.

Abstract

Background: Greater adherence to daily self-weighing has been associated with improved outcomes within behavioral weight-loss programs. Identifying factors that can predict adherence to self-weighing may support the development of novel tailored interventions.

Methods: The current study examined whether baseline body mass index (BMI) and body image satisfaction (assessed via the Body Image States Scale [BISS]) predicted adherence to self-weighing during a 16-week behavioral weight-loss program in 449 adults with obesity (mean ± SD age = 49.47 ± 11.37 years; BMI = 35.73 ± 4.03 kg/m²; 83.52% female, 74.16% White). Participants were provided with e-scales and encouraged to self-weigh daily during the program. Linear regressions were used to examine associations between BMI and BISS scores (and their interaction) and the proportion of program days that participants self-weighed.

Results: At baseline, average (mean ± SD) BISS scores were 3.57 ± 1.28; higher BMI was associated with lower BISS scores, r = -0.11. Participants self-weighed an average of 80.92 ± 23.35% of days during the intervention; greater self-weighing was associated with greater weight loss, r = -0.56. Neither BMI nor BISS at baseline predicted self-weighing adherence; moreover, there was not an interaction between BMI and BISS scores in relation to self-weighing adherence.

Conclusions: Although results demonstrating negative associations between BMI and body image satisfaction and between self-weighing adherence and weight loss were consistent with prior literature, the lack of an association between BMI, BISS, and self-weighing was not consistent with hypotheses or the prior cross-sectional literature. Given the role self-weighing plays in behavioral weight-loss programs, future research should aim to identify other predictors of self-weighing adherence.