Robin M Masheb1,2, Amanda M Kutz3, Alison G Marsh4, Kathryn M Min5, Christopher B Ruser4,6, Lindsey M Dorflinger7. 1. The Veterans Initiative for Eating and Weight/11ACSLG, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, 950 Campbell Ave, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA. robin.masheb@yale.edu. 2. Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA. robin.masheb@yale.edu. 3. VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, 500 Foothill Drive, Salt Lake City, UT, 84148, USA. 4. The Veterans Initiative for Eating and Weight/11ACSLG, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, 950 Campbell Ave, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA. 5. Graduate Institute of Professional Psychology, University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT, 06117, USA. 6. Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA. 7. Independent Scholar, Arlington, VA, 22203, USA.
Abstract
PURPOSE: "Making weight" behaviors are unhealthy weight control strategies intended to reduce weight in an effort to meet weight requirements. This study aimed to examine a brief measure of making weight and to investigate the relationship between making weight and weight, binge eating, and eating pathology later in life. METHODS: Participants were veterans [N = 120, mean age 61.7, mean body mass index (BMI) 38.0, 89.2% male, 74.2% Caucasian] who were overweight/obese and seeking weight management treatment. Participants completed the making weight inventory (MWI), a measure of making weight behaviors engaged in during military service, and validated measures of eating behavior. Analyses compared participants who engaged in at least one making weight behavior (MWI+) versus those who did not (MWI-). RESULTS: The MWI had good internal consistency. One-third of participants were MWI+ and two-thirds were MWI-. The most frequently reported behavior was excessive exercise, reported in one-quarter of the sample, followed by fasting/skipping meals, sauna/rubber suit, laxatives, diuretics, and vomiting. MWI+ participants were significantly more likely to be in a younger cohort of veterans, to be an ethnic/racial minority, and to engage in current maladaptive eating behaviors, including binge eating, vomiting, emotional eating, food addiction, and night eating, compared to the MWI- group. Groups did not differ on BMI. CONCLUSIONS: One-third of veterans who were overweight/obese screened positive for engaging in making weight behaviors during military service. Findings provide evidence that efforts to "make weight" are related to binge eating and eating pathology later in life. Future research and clinical efforts should address how to best eliminate unhealthy weight control strategies in military service while also supporting healthy weight management efforts.
PURPOSE: "Making weight" behaviors are unhealthy weight control strategies intended to reduce weight in an effort to meet weight requirements. This study aimed to examine a brief measure of making weight and to investigate the relationship between making weight and weight, binge eating, and eating pathology later in life. METHODS:Participants were veterans [N = 120, mean age 61.7, mean body mass index (BMI) 38.0, 89.2% male, 74.2% Caucasian] who were overweight/obese and seeking weight management treatment. Participants completed the making weight inventory (MWI), a measure of making weight behaviors engaged in during military service, and validated measures of eating behavior. Analyses compared participants who engaged in at least one making weight behavior (MWI+) versus those who did not (MWI-). RESULTS: The MWI had good internal consistency. One-third of participants were MWI+ and two-thirds were MWI-. The most frequently reported behavior was excessive exercise, reported in one-quarter of the sample, followed by fasting/skipping meals, sauna/rubber suit, laxatives, diuretics, and vomiting. MWI+ participants were significantly more likely to be in a younger cohort of veterans, to be an ethnic/racial minority, and to engage in current maladaptive eating behaviors, including binge eating, vomiting, emotional eating, food addiction, and night eating, compared to the MWI- group. Groups did not differ on BMI. CONCLUSIONS: One-third of veterans who were overweight/obese screened positive for engaging in making weight behaviors during military service. Findings provide evidence that efforts to "make weight" are related to binge eating and eating pathology later in life. Future research and clinical efforts should address how to best eliminate unhealthy weight control strategies in military service while also supporting healthy weight management efforts.
Entities:
Keywords:
Eating disorders; Making weight; Military; Obesity; Veterans
Authors: Jan M Moore; Anna F Timperio; David A Crawford; Cate M Burns; David Cameron-Smith Journal: Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab Date: 2002-03 Impact factor: 4.599
Authors: Marian Tanofsky-Kraff; Tracy Sbrocco; Kelly R Theim; L Adelyn Cohen; Eleanor R Mackey; Eric Stice; Jennifer L Henderson; Sarah J McCreight; Edny J Bryant; Mark B Stephens Journal: Obesity (Silver Spring) Date: 2013-09-05 Impact factor: 5.002
Authors: W Victor R Vieweg; Demetrios A Julius; Antony Fernandez; Daniel M Tassone; Shireesha N Narla; Anand K Pandurangi Journal: Prim Care Companion J Clin Psychiatry Date: 2006
Authors: Kendrin R Sonneville; Idia B Thurston; Carly E Milliren; Holly C Gooding; Tracy K Richmond Journal: Int J Eat Disord Date: 2016-05-24 Impact factor: 4.861
Authors: Isabel G Jacobson; Tyler C Smith; Besa Smith; Pamela K Keel; Paul J Amoroso; Timothy S Wells; Gaston P Bathalon; Edward J Boyko; Margaret A K Ryan Journal: Am J Epidemiol Date: 2009-02-04 Impact factor: 4.897
Authors: Jose A Betancourt; Paula Stigler Granados; Gerardo J Pacheco; Julie Reagan; Ramalingam Shanmugam; Joseph B Topinka; Bradley M Beauvais; Zo H Ramamonjiarivelo; Lawrence V Fulton Journal: Healthcare (Basel) Date: 2021-05-18