Читать книгу Clinical Obesity in Adults and Children - Группа авторов - Страница 104

At the individual level, psychological interventions can be used to target internalized stigma. Only a handful of studies have tested such interventions in persons with obesity. Results have been promising, although these studies have been small, short‐term, or without strong control groups. For example, one study tested an 8‐week group cognitive‐behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention designed to reduce WBI in a sample of eight adults with obesity who had experienced and internalized weight stigma [139]. Compared to a quasi‐control group with no intervention (n = 6), the intervention group reported greater reductions in WBI and weight‐related stereotype endorsement, as well as greater improvements in weight‐related self‐efficacy.

Other studies have combined stigma‐reduction interventions with weight management approaches. One randomized controlled trial (RCT) of 73 women with overweight/obesity tested a 3‐month Acceptance and Commitment Therapy‐based group intervention designed to reduce weight self‐stigma and promote healthy eating, compared to treatment as usual (TAU) individual medical and nutritional visits [140]. Results showed greater improvement in the intervention group versus TAU on measures of weight self‐stigma, eating behaviors, and quality of life. Another study combined a group CBT weight stigma‐reduction intervention with standard group behavioral weight loss (BWL) treatment in comparison to BWL alone. This 6‐month trial of 72 adults with obesity who had experienced and internalized weight stigma found significant reductions in some aspects of weight self‐stigma – namely self‐devaluation – in the intervention group compared to the BWL alone group [141]. Some benefits of the intervention were also found for eating and self‐monitoring, although significant improvements across both groups were found for stigma, weight, health behaviors, and psychological well‐being. Other studies have compared standard weight loss approaches to weight‐neutral healthy eating interventions (which included some content on internalized stigma but were not primarily designed to target this [112,142]). Findings from these studies have shown improvements across groups, although weight losses were significantly higher in the standard weight loss groups. Certainly, more research in this area is needed with larger samples and longer follow‐up.