Autonomous motivation could improve weight loss

J Nutr Educ Behav. 2010;42:161-167 [May 2010]

Autonomous motivation is a potential intervention target for increasing adherence to self-monitoring in a weight-loss program and weight loss itself, according to researchers from the University of Kentucky in Lexington. They evaluated 66 women, aged 22 to 65 years, with a body mass index between 25 and 40 kg/m² , to assess adherence to self-monitoring and weight loss in a 16-week Web-based behavioral weight-loss intervention. At 16 week follow-up, 37 of 66 participants had lost 5 percent of their initial body weight. In these women, autonomous motivation increased initially and remained high. Both autonomous and controlled motivation declined over time for those who did not achieve a 5 percent weight loss, however. At four weeks, autonomous motivation was a predictor of an individual's adherence to self-monitoring and of weight loss at 16 weeks.