Elsevier

Behavior Therapy

Volume 44, Issue 4, December 2013, Pages 674-685
Behavior Therapy

Reducing TV Watching During Adult Obesity Treatment: Two Pilot Randomized Controlled Trials☆

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2013.04.012Get rights and content

Highlights

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    Greater television viewing is related to increased risk for obesity

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    Reducing television watching during adult obesity treatment has not been examined

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    Decreasing television watching may assist with reducing intake while viewing television

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    Light physical activity increases with decreases in television watching

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    Research on impact of long-term decreases in television watching on weight is needed

Abstract

The more time adults spend being sedentary, the greater the risk of obesity. The effect of reducing television (TV) watching, a prominent sedentary behavior, on weight loss has not been tested in an adult standard behavioral obesity intervention, and the mechanisms by which reducing TV watching influences energy balance behaviors are not well understood. Two, 8-week, pilot, randomized controlled trials were conducted examining the effect of a reduced TV watching prescription on energy balance behaviors and weight loss within an adult standard behavioral obesity intervention. In the first study, participants (n = 24) were randomized into one of two conditions: (a) reduce energy intake and increase moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) (INCREASE PA); or (b) reduce energy intake and decrease TV watching (DECREASE TV). As findings from the first pilot study did not show an increase in MVPA in the DECREASE TV group, the second study was designed to examine the effect of adding a reduced TV prescription to a standard intervention to optimize outcomes. In Pilot Study 2, participants (n = 28) were randomized to INCREASE PA or to INCREASE PA + DECREASE TV. Outcomes included objectively measured TV watching and MVPA, self-reported light physical activity (LPA—Pilot Study 2 only), self-reported dietary intake while watching TV, and weight. Conditions with TV watching prescriptions significantly reduced TV watching. Both studies showed medium to large effect sizes for conditions with TV watching prescriptions to show greater reductions in dietary intake while watching TV. Pilot Study 1 found a trend for an increase in MVPA in INCREASE PA and Pilot Study 2 found significant increases in MVPA in both conditions. Pilot Study 2 found a significant increase in LPA in the INCREASE PA + DECREASE TV. Results indicate adding a TV watching prescription to a standard obesity intervention did not enhance increases in MVPA, but may assist with reducing dietary intake while TV watching and increasing LPA. Future research should examine the effect of reducing TV watching during obesity treatment over a longer time frame in a larger sample.

Section snippets

Participants

Between February and April 2008, potential participants were recruited through mailings from a database and newspaper advertisements and phone screened for eligibility in Knoxville, TN. Eligibility criteria included ages 21 to 65 years, body mass index (BMI) between 25 and 40 kg/m2, watch ≥ 16 hours of TV per week, and engage in ≤ 100 minutes of MVPA per week. Individuals were excluded if they could not walk two blocks; reported a heart condition, chest pain during periods of activity or rest, or

Participants

Between May and August 2010 potential participants were recruited via identical methods and meeting same eligibility criteria as in Pilot Study 1. The protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01142206).

A total of 337 potential participants were phone-screened for eligibility and those participants who were initially eligible were invited to an in-person orientation, in which informed

General Discussion

The purpose of the investigations was to examine the feasibility of reducing TV watching in obese, sedentary adults during standard behavioral obesity treatment. Additionally, these investigations were designed to assist in gaining a better understanding of the effect of reducing TV watching on weight loss during an obesity intervention and to examine the impact reducing TV watching has on dietary intake associated with TV watching and other forms of physical activity. The two pilot studies

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    ☆

    These pilot studies were supported by a feasibility grant from the University of Tennessee Obesity Research Center. The funding source had no role in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication.

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