Accept Yourself! A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of a Self-Acceptance-Based Treatment for Large-Bodied Women With Depression

• Published in: Behavior therapy 2022-09, Vol.53 (5), p.913-926
• Main Authors: Berman, Margit I., Park, John, Kragenbrink, Monica E., Hegel, Mark T.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: accept yourself; acceptance and commitment therapy; health at every size
• ISSN: 0005-7894; 1878-1888
• DOI: 10.1016/j.beth.2022.03.002

•Depression improved in both Accept Yourself and Weight Watchers.•Accept Yourself participants improved more in self-reported depression.•Neither group improved significantly in cardiovascular fitness.•Weight Watchers participants had increased eating disorder symptoms and weight gain.•Accept Yourself had lower participant attrition than Weight Watchers. A pilot parallel randomized controlled trial compared a self-acceptance, non-weight-loss intervention, Accept Yourself! (AY), to a weight loss program, Weight Watchers (WW), in order to provide preliminary safety, feasibility, and efficacy data in preparation for a definitive RCT of AY as an intervention to enhance the mental and physical health of larger-bodied women with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Adult women with MDD and a Body Mass Index ≥30 were eligible. Nineteen women were randomized by random number table into AY (n = 9) or WW (n = 10). Intake, pretreatment, posttreatment, 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month follow-up assessments occurred at a rural academic medical center. Primary outcomes included depression severity and cardiovascular fitness. Chi-square and t-tests assessed attrition and participant preferences for treatment; other analyses used intention-to-treat, linear mixed-effects models for repeated measures, including all participants’ available data. Both groups improved in self-reported, F(5, 43.81) = 7.45, p