The Response of Obese Patients to Weight Reduction

Abstract

The behavior of 6 severely obese, nonpsychotic, adult patients was quantitatively evaluated during 3 periods of weight reduction: Period I--prior to weight loss; Period II--during weight loss; and Period III--following weight loss. Behavioral rating interviews and selected psychological tests were utilized in quantifying their behavioral response. Significant behavioral alterations occurred in four categories of behavioral response: (1) affective, (2) perceptual, (3) sexual, and (4) hunger-food behavior. Behavioral alterations which became evident during weight loss but did not persist following weight loss included hunger symptoms, hostility-aggression, concern with alteration of body size, and ego boundary permeability. Behavioral alterations which persisted following weight loss included anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, sexual psychopathology, dreams and fantasies of food or eating, diet-breaking, and over-estimation of body size. These observations suggest that weight reduction of obese patients may result in a behavioral state similar to that of nonobese individuals who have experienced a period of starvation and weight loss.