Intervenção psicossocial intensiva baseada na terapia de aceitação e compromisso para pessoas com sobrepeso e obesidade

Abstract

Overweight and its consequences cause several physical and mental health problems. A reduction of caloric ingestion and an increase in physical activity are recommended to weight adequacy. However, the adhesion and maintenance of these practices continue being a limitation in the care of overweight and obese people. There are evidences of the effectiveness of therapies that involve the incentive to lifestyle changes through topographic alterations of behavior and thought. Unlike these interventions, the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) does not focus on the topographic modification of behavior, but on the alteration of its function. It is aimed, with this thesis, to evaluate the effect of the use of an intensive psychological intervention, based in ACT, in comparison to a Psychoeducational and CBT intervention in overweight and obese people. This thesis, is divided in three studies. The first one aimed to identify the processes of psychological inflexibility (PI) associated to the body mass index (BMI), depression, anxiety and stress symptoms and binge eating in overweight and obese people. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 243 people with BMI 25 and higher and ages 18 to 60 years. The data was analysed through a One-Way ANOVA and t test. There were no differences found in the PI mediums in relation to BMI. There were significant differences found in PI in relation to binge eating and depression, anxiety and stress symptoms, being that the most severe the symptom, the higher the PI medium. The second study aimed to evaluate the predictive factors of the participation of overweight and obese people in an intensive psychosocial program, of 8 hours of duration in one day. This is a cross-sectional quantitative study in which 82 people (77 of them, women) with BMI 25 and higher and ages from 18 and 60 years answered to a recruiting and confirmed participation. A multivariate binary logistic regression was conducted. The variables with some degree of prediction in the adhesion to the intervention were the ones of behavior related to diet and physical activity (OR: 1,342; IC: 95%: 0,970- 1,857), psychological flexibility (OR:1,078; IC 95%: 1,009-1,152) and, more specifically, the psychological process of cognitive fusion (OR: 1,078; IC: 95%: 0,969 - 1,069). The last study aimed to investigate the effects of an intervention based in ACT, in comparison to one based in Psychoeducation and CBT, in the objective measures (weight and BMI) and in the ones of self-repot (depression, anxiety and stress symptoms, binge eating and psychological flexibility) in overweight and obese people. 72 people were randomly assigned to one of the groups. The ACT group showed differences in the development of cognitive defusion and eating conscience - emotional response, as well as it helped more in the modification of binge eating intensity. Other results did not present a significant difference between the groups. Considering that the Psychoeducational/CBT intervention is the chosen intervention nowadays, the results of this thesis show that an intervention in ACT can have at least the same outcomes as the intervention of choice.