Background on Cognitive-behavior therapy
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) applies knowledge gained through basic and applied scientific research in psychology and related fields (e.g., learning, memory, emotions, physiology) to problems we face in our lives. Knowledge gained from the past 40 years of research has taught us many things about weight control, much of which has not penetrated conventional wisdom or media reports on the subject. For example, many theorists used to espouse the view that obesity is a sign of a neurosis or some type of psychological weakness. In contrast, research comparing overweight to non-overweight people has failed to support that viewpoint. Overweight people are just as smart and just as well (and poorly) adjusted as non-overweight people.
Overweight people, however, differ dramatically from their leaner peers in the ways their bodies work. For example, an overweight person’s body, compared to a non-overweight person, has:
- Many more fat cells
- A greater ability to store food more efficiently (called “diet induced thermogenesis”)
- Different levels of hormones and enzymes that maximize the storage of fat and affect hunger (like Leptin and Lipoprotein Lipase)
- A tendency to transport any fat consumed into storage (in fat cells) rather than into muscles to be used for energy
CBT can help overweight people manage their biologies more effectively. CBT helps them become super-normal self-regulators who are better able to set goals, observe themselves systematically, stay committed and manage the stress of everyday living.
Research published in the 1990s compared very overweight children who had received CBT for weight loss with equally overweight children who didn’t received this treatment (the control group). Ten years later, the control group actually gained weight and averaged 60% overweight whereas the CBT group lost weight and averaged 30% overweight. Wellspring outcomes have far surpassed these outcomes.
