The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of behavioural self-control and relapse prevention strategies for increasing adherence in obese women during a 12 week supervised walking programme and in a six month unsupervised maintenance period.
Fifty female volunteers aged 18-60 years who were inactive during the previous six months were matched on the variables of age and oxygen pulse and assigned to one of three groups. Each group participated in a 12 week supervised walking programme at the University of Victoria. Group one (n = 16) was exposed to the Behavioural Self-Control intervention (BSC). Group two (n = 17) was exposed to the Relapse Prevention intervention (RP). The control group (C, n = 17) received no intervention.
The participants were expected to attend a minimum of three supervised sessions per week at which attendance was recorded and then participate in an unsupervised "4th Day Walk". Adherence to the 4th day walk was self-reported, as was adherence during the maintenance period. Fitness was evaluated three times during the study: (1) pre-intervention, (2) post intervention (3 months), and (3) post maintenance (6 months). Each fitness assessment included anthropometry and a submaximal treadmill aerobic fitness test to evaluate fitness changes and provide confirmation of self-reported adherence.
Average adherence to the walking during the supervised programme was 75.38%, with 80% of the subjects completing the programme. Adherence to walking during maintenance declined from 73.17% in the first month to 50.87% in the sixth, with 60% of the individuals remaining involved at 9 months.
No significant differences in overall program adherence or number and distribution of drop-outs were found. Significant differences were found when the final six weeks of the supervised programme were analysed separately, F(2,27) = 4.60, p<.02. The BSC group had significantly higher adherence than the RP group during this period. Overall adherence during maintenance was significantly different among groups, F(2,27) = 4.85, p<.02. The BSC group had significantly greater adherence than the C group. Physiological measures demonstrated that fitness increased during the programme and was maintained during the maintenance period for all groups.
Rates of adherence, measured as either attendance or drop-out, were comparable to those reported for normal weight populations. The BSC intervention in an educational skill-based setting appeared to be an effective means of maintaining exercise behaviour over nine months. The RP intervention was no more effective than no intervention. The high levels of adherence obtained during this programme support the increasing use of exercise in the treatment of obesity. / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/9587 |
| Date | 04 July 2018 |
| Creators | Naylor, Patti-Jean |
| Contributors | Howe, Bruce L. |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | Available to the World Wide Web |
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