Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center, The Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI, USA.
Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA.
Transl Behav Med. 2021 Mar 16;11(2):359-368. doi: 10.1093/tbm/ibaa038.
One in three college students have overweight or obesity and are in need of brief, simple weight loss interventions. Implementation intentions, a strategy that connects a goal-aligned behavior to a cue, facilitate goal attainment of health behaviors but have not been applied as a standalone treatment for weight loss. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of an implementation intention weight loss intervention in college students. In this three-arm, proof-of-concept, randomized controlled trial, college students with overweight/obesity (N = 95) were randomized to one of three conditions: an implementation intention group (IMP), an enhanced implementation intention group (IMP+) that included text message reminders and fluency training (i.e., training for speed and accuracy), and a control goal intention group (GOL) for 4 weeks. Participants completed anthropometric and self-report assessments pretreatment and posttreatment and experience-sampling assessments during the study to assess how implementation intentions contribute to behavior change. Across the sample, IMP and IMP+ groups reported significantly more goal-congruent behaviors than the GOL group. However, no between-condition differences emerged for weight and diet outcomes. Across conditions, students lost a statistically significant amount of weight, improved diet quality, and reduced caloric intake (ps < .05). Setting implementation intentions was associated with increased behaviors consistent with weight loss goals. Moreover, participants in all groups lost a statistically significant amount of weight. Incorporating implementation intentions into weight loss interventions, and testing the efficacy of this approach on weight loss over a longer duration, may be beneficial for college students with overweight/obesity.
三分之一的大学生超重或肥胖，需要接受简短、简单的减肥干预。实施意向是一种将目标一致的行为与提示联系起来的策略，它有助于实现健康行为的目标，但尚未作为单独的减肥治疗方法应用。本研究旨在检验减肥实施意向干预在大学生中的疗效。在这项三臂、概念验证、随机对照试验中，超重/肥胖的大学生（N=95）被随机分配到以下三种条件之一：实施意向组（IMP）、包括短信提醒和流畅性训练（即速度和准确性训练）的增强实施意向组（IMP+），以及 4 周的控制目标意向组（GOL）。参与者在治疗前和治疗后完成人体测量和自我报告评估，并在研究期间进行体验抽样评估，以评估实施意向如何促进行为改变。在整个样本中，IMP 和 IMP+组报告的目标一致行为明显多于 GOL 组。然而，体重和饮食结果没有出现组间差异。在所有条件下，学生的体重、饮食质量和卡路里摄入量都有显著减少（p<.05）。设定实施意向与增加与减肥目标一致的行为有关。此外，所有组的参与者体重都有显著减轻。将实施意向纳入减肥干预措施，并在更长的时间内测试这种方法对减肥的效果，可能对超重/肥胖的大学生有益。
