title: Predicting attrition and adherence to a very low calorie diet: a prospective investigation of the eating inventory.
abstract: This prospective study examined the use of the eating inventory and its association with adherence, attrition, and dysphoric emotional states on patients treated with a very low calorie diet (VLCD). Subjects were 81 severely (medically significant) obese patients (mean BMI (weight in kilograms/height in meters squared) for women 36.25; men 39.16) enrolled in a university-based weight reduction program employing a liquid protein supplement VLCD with behavior modification. The eating inventory's factors hunger and restraint successfully discriminated attrition/adherence groups while disinhibition did not. Subjects with scores above the mean on disinhibition and hunger and below the mean on restraint had consistently poorer outcomes. The hunger factor was significantly related to dietary nonadherence, with those scoring in the highest quartile on this dimension eating three times the number of calories of those scoring in the lowest quartile. Disinhibition and hunger were significantly related to anxiety and depression while restraint was not. These findings provide support for the use of the eating inventory in screening and treatment of severely obese patients receiving very low calorie diets.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, Baltimore 21228.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: LaPorte
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Stunkard
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D015930:Diet Records; D004038:Diet, Reducing / Q000523:psychology*; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006815:Hunger; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011446:Prospective Studies