Adaptive and Maladaptive Responses to Weight Loss Failure among Middle-Aged Men: The Potential Moderating Role of Achievement Goals
Open AccessIn recent years the prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased, particularly among middle-aged men. It is not surprising that rates are increasing because weight loss is a challenging endeavor, often characterized by setbacks or failures. Research shows that the way in which individuals respond to such setbacks plays a critical role in weight loss, such that the same, or a similar, setback can elicit responses that are either beneficial or detrimental to losing weight. That is, some individuals respond to setbacks with adaptive strategies, like increasing exercise and monitoring food intake more carefully. In contrast, others respond with maladaptive strategies, like giving up on their weight loss attempts altogether. Furthermore, evidence suggests that maladaptive responses are associated with unsuccessful weight loss attempts, whereas adaptive responses are associated with successful weight loss. To date, little research has focused on understanding factors that may affect these different responses, and studies that have are disproportionately focused on women. Therefore, the present study tested whether Achievement Goal Theory (AGT), a well-established framework used to understand adaptive and maladaptive response to failures or setbacks, may be used to explain different responses to weight-related failures among middle-aged men. Evidence shows the type of achievement goal an individual adopts leads to distinct affective, cognitive and behavioral responses to failure such that mastery goals are associated with adaptive responses and performance goals are associated with maladaptive responses across academic and athletic domains. However, the framework has not yet been extended to the weight loss domain. The purpose of the proposed study was to test whether achievement goals moderated the relationship between weight-related feedback and subsequent responses displayed by middle-aged men trying to lose weight. The study was an experiment in which participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions (control versus failure). Participation involved completing a brief web-based survey regarding one’s own current weight loss attempt. Following achievement goal measures, participants were randomly assigned to read a hypothetical scenario in which the participant experienced no weight change (control) or gained three pounds (failure). Following the scenario, affective, cognitive and behavioral responses to the event described were reported. Results from the current study failed to support the hypothesized moderation effect of achievement goals on the relationship between hypothetical failure and subsequent responses. However, results from exploratory analyses results supported the utility of AGT to better understand responses to setbacks and failures experienced while trying to lose weight. Specifically, analyses of the data suggest that the adoption of performance goals may lead to maladaptive responses to failure, whereas the adoption of mastery goals may lead to adaptive responses to the same failure. Overall, findings from the study make both theoretical and practical contributions to weight loss and AGT literature.
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