Search

With the prevalence of obesity reaching epidemic levels both within the UK and worldwide there is an urgent need to explore ways in which to stem its burden on our society. There is a large body of research examining the positive effects of dietary and physical activity interventions for weight loss success, however much less is known regarding the psychological aspects, in particular the self-regulatory factors that contribute to both weight loss and weight maintenance success and failure. The current thesis examines these factors through four studies. Study one highlighted the factors related to success and failure in weight maintenance. Study two investigated the characteristics contributing to successful attainment of a weight loss and a non weight loss goal simultaneously. Study three explored the factors related to dietary lapse occurrence. Building on the previous studies, study four consisted of a self-regulatory skills intervention to improve weight-related outcomes. Results highlight the role of temptations and lapse occurrence and the threat they pose to weight loss and weight maintenance success. In addition, the current thesis outlines the need to not only identify influential self-regulatory factors but also to develop these factors in order to promote weight loss success.