Dietary self-monitoring and long-term success with weight management

Abstract

Objective To examine the contributions of frequency, consistency, and comprehensiveness of dietary self-monitoring to long-term weight change. Methods Participants included 220 obese women (mean-±-SD, age-=-59.3-±-6. 1 years; BMI-=-36.8-±-4.9 kg/m2) who achieved a mean weight loss of -10.39-±-5.28% from baseline during 6 months of behavioral treatment and regained 2.30-±-7.28% during a 12-month extended-care period. The contributions of cumulative frequency of self-monitoring (total number of food records), consistency across time (number of weeks with ≥3 records), and comprehensiveness of information recorded were examined as predictors of weight regain in a hierarchical linear regression analysis. The mediating role of adherence to daily caloric intake goals was tested using a bootstrapping analysis. Results The association between high total frequency of self-monitoring and reduced weight regain was moderated by weekly consistency of self-monitoring, P-=-0.004; increased frequency produced beneficial effects on weight change only when coupled with high consistency (>3 days/week). There was no impact of comprehensiveness on weight change, P->-0.05. The favorable effect of high frequency/high consistency self-monitoring on weight change was partially mediated by participants' success in meeting daily caloric intake goals (P-