Register for Low calorie diet affects women's psychosocial well being
PsychologyAugust 8, 2002
2002 AUG 8 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS, senior medical writer - Obese women on a low-calorie diet lost weight and experienced a reduction in most negative psychological parameters, according to a report in the July issue of the International Journal of Eating Disorders.
Kurt Laederach-Hofmann and colleagues at the Universities of Berne (Switzerland) and Trier (Germany) determined psychological, social, and metabolic parameters in nine obese women before and after a 6-week, low-calorie diet accompanied by behavior therapy sessions. Parameters measured included blood lipids and insulin sensitivity; psychosocial characteristics evaluated included depression, anger, anxiety, well being, and global severity index (a measure of overall level of psychological distress).
The low-calorie diet resulted in a significant loss in weight (average of 9.6 kg, p<0.0001), BMI (average of 3.5 kg/m2, p<0.0007), and abdominal fat (22.3-18.9 kg, p<0.0001). A significant increase in insulin sensitivity also occurred (3.0-4.3 mg/kg, p=0.05) (Links between body mass index, total body fat, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, and insulin sensitivity in patients with obesity related to depression, anger, and anxiety. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 2002;32(1):58-71).
Psychosocial parameters that decreased included hunger feelings (p<0.05), externality (p<0.05), relationship sensitivity (p<0.01), paranoid thoughts (p<0.05), psychotic tendencies (p<0.01), and global severity index (p<0.05). Psychosocial parameters that increased included irritability (p<0.05) and cognitive control (p<0.0001).
Researchers found a significant association between level of nervousness and percent body fat (p<0.05). An inverse relationship existed between waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and emotional stability (p<0.05), while a direct relationship existed between WHR and sociability (p<0.05).
Laederach-Hofmann and collaborators concluded, "Weight reduction may lead to better somatic risk factor control. Women with more nervousness and better sociability at the beginning of a diet period may lose more weight than others."
The corresponding author for this study is Kurt Laederach-Hofmann, University of Berne, Psychosomatic Medicine, Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic, Berne, Switzerland. E-mail: laederach@insel.ch.
A search at www.NewsRx.net using the search term "women's obesity" yielded 218 articles in 28 specialized reports.
Key points reported in this study include:
* After a 6-week, low-calorie diet, women experienced significant decreases in hunger pangs, externality, social sensitivity, and paranoid thoughts, as well as in weight, body mass index, and abdominal fat.
* A 6-week, low-calorie diet resulted in an increase in irritability and cognitive function, as well as insulin sensitivity.
* Inverse relations were discovered between waist-to-hip ratio and emotional instability, and between emotional stability and insulin sensitivity.
* Waist-to-hip ratio significantly correlated with sociability. This article was prepared by Women's Health Weekly editors from staff and other reports.
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