Successful behavior change in obesity interventions in adults: a systematic review of self-regulation mediators

Table 2 Mediators/predictors of short-term weight control (<12 months)

Putative mediators (categories)	Formal mediation analyses			All analyses
Putative mediators (categories)	Number of studies	Times tested	Effect, %	Number of studies	Times tested	Effect, %
↑ Self-regulation skill use				6	12	92^a
↑ Self-efficacy/barriers				6	9	67*^b
↑ Body image/physical self-worth				2	6	67*
↓ Eating disinhibition				1	4	75*^c
↑ Cognitive restraint				1	3	33*^a
↑ Processes of change				1	2	50*
↑ Decisional balance (pros/cons)				1	1	100*
↓ Perceived hunger				1	1	100*^c
↑ Positive outcome expectations				1	1	0

Notes: Blank spaces correspond to variables that were not tested using formal mediation analyses. Times tested refers to the number of times a variable was analyzed; Effect, % refers to the number of times an effect was found and is expressed as percentage. Since mediation analyses were not conducted, results are organized according to the number of times each variable was tested in the overall analyses, depicted in the fifth column, in descent order. * ≥ 50% of these effects are based on correlational analyses. ^aTested twice in weak quality studies. ^bTested three times in weak quality studies. ^cTested in a weak quality study. [↑] means that higher value of (variable) was associated with improved outcomes; [↓] means "lower value of (variable)" was associated with improved outcomes.

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