| Weight-loss is a chronic health issue. The current investigation used the framework of chronic disease self-management to assess the effect of past behavior, vicarious experience, and interpersonal influence on efficacy and adherence to diet and physical activity. Three treatment groups (meal replacement participants attending weekly group meetings, meal replacement participants in an individualized, medially supervised program and a control group of people trying to lose weight through any commercial program) participated in a time-series, quasi-experiment. Path analysis showed that while the proposed models were not consistent with the data, other models suggested better fit. The control condition experienced the highest levels of efficacy, yet the group condition, followed by the individual program participants reported the highest levels of social support and adherence to diet. This study presents interesting results and discussion on past behavior, vicarious experience, social undermining, and efficacy. |
