Does Spirituality Predict Weight Loss In A Behavioral Weight Loss Program?

Despite the rapid growth in the prevalence of obese African Americans, few weight loss treatments specifically designed for African Americans have been created Brooks et al., 2008 Budd et al., 2007 Kennedy et al., 2005 Kumanyika, Shults et al. 2005. The purpose of this study was to evaluate factors that may impact adherence and weight loss among African American women. Spirituality is considered a robust variable in predicting both mental and physical health Park, Moehl, Fenster, 2008 Zinnbauer Pargament, 2005. Mental and physical health benefits of spirituality may extend to positive outcomes in a behavioral weight loss program. This study included 106 overweight and obese women, 18-55 years old, in the metropolitan Washington D.C. area. A series of regression analyses were conducted to determine whether spirituality and weight loss was mediated by adherence or moderated by age and treatment location. Spirituality was not significantly related to weight loss. Rather those who had higher scores on extrinsic and intrinsic measures of spirituality lost significantly less weight and even gained weight in comparison to those with lower scores of spirituality. Intrinsic spirituality and weight loss was moderated by age. Older women who scored higher on intrinsic spirituality lost less weight than older women with lower scores of intrinsic spirituality or younger women regardless of intrinsic spirituality levels.