Volume 29, Issue 3
DOI: 10.24205/03276716.2020.710
Maintenance of Motivation for Lifestyle Change in Adolescents with Overweight Obesity: A 6-Month Follow-Up Study
Abstract
Obesity prevalence has increased significantly in recent decades, affecting millions of children and adolescents worldwide. This study aimed to evaluate the maintenance of effect of an interdisciplinary intervention based on the transtheoretical model of change and on the motivation for behavior modification in adolescents with overweight and obesity. A total of 135 participants were randomly assigned to a psychoeducational control group (CG) or motivational intervention group (IG). The IG participants showed a significant improvement in the variables of motivation to modify eating habits and practice physical exercise, and self-efficacy and decision-making for weight loss, in comparison to the CG. No significant time or group effect was found for the anthropometric and metabolic variables. The intervention proved to be highly effective for its main outcome and could positively enhance long-term changes in anthropometric variables through modification of lifestyle habits.
Keywords
Obesity, Adolescence, Follow-Up, Transtheoretical Model of Change, Intervention