Abstract
Objective
To determine the overall effect of non-diet, weight-neutral interventions on factors
such as weight, biochemical measures, food and activity behavior, body image, and
mental health.
Design
Systematic review of intervention literature.
Setting
Group classes in community and worksite settings (14 studies), and individual counseling
(1) and online education (1) in college settings.
Participants
Eighteen research articles (representing 16 studies) evaluating non-diet interventions
using quasi-experimental and randomized study designs with either a comparison or
control group.
Main Outcome Measures
Anthropometric, physiological, psychological, and dietary intake.
Analysis
Systematic search of 168 articles and review of 18 articles meeting inclusionary criteria.
Results
Non-diet interventions resulted in statistically significant improvements in disordered
eating patterns, self-esteem, and depression. None of the interventions resulted in
significant weight gain or worsening of blood pressure, blood glucose, or cholesterol,
and in 2 studies biochemical measures improved significantly compared with the control
or diet group. Primary limitations were inconsistent definitions of non-diet approaches
and the use of different assessment instruments for measuring outcomes.
Conclusions and Implications
Because of the long-term ineffectiveness of weight-focused interventions, the psychological
improvements seen in weight-neutral, non-diet interventions warrant further investigation.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
December 3,
2014
Footnotes
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: The authors' conflict of interest disclosures can be found online with this article on www.jneb.org.
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
