Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Utrecht University, The Netherlands.
J Health Psychol. 2013 May;18(5):638-47. doi: 10.1177/1359105312454038. Epub 2012 Aug 29.
Although psychological theories outline that it might be beneficial to set more challenging goals, people attempting to lose weight are generally recommended to set modest weight loss goals. The present study explores whether the amount of weight loss individuals strive for is associated with more positive psychological and behavioral outcomes. Hereto, 447 overweight and obese participants trying to lose weight completed two questionnaires with a 2-month interval. Many participants set goals that could be considered unrealistically high. However, higher weight loss goals did not predict dissatisfaction but predicted more effort in the weight loss attempt, as well as more self-reported short-term weight loss when baseline commitment and motivation were controlled for.
虽然心理学理论表明设定更具挑战性的目标可能是有益的，但一般建议减肥的人设定适度的减肥目标。本研究探讨了个人追求的减肥量是否与更积极的心理和行为结果有关。为此，447 名超重和肥胖的减肥参与者在两个月的时间间隔内完成了两份问卷。许多参与者设定的目标被认为是不切实际的高。然而，较高的减肥目标并没有预测不满，而是预测了更多的减肥努力，以及更多的自我报告的短期减肥，当基线承诺和动机得到控制时。
