The effectiveness of the combined treatment of self-compassion and lifestyle on the core belief of eating, self-criticism and weight self-efficacy in obese women

The aim of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of self-compassion therapy and lifestyle modification on the psychological factors of eating core belief, self-criticism, and weight self-efficacy in obese women. The research method was a semi-experimental pre-test-post-test type with a control group and a two-month follow-up. The statistical population of the study consisted of all women with BMI ≥ 25 who were referred to obesity treatment centers in 2022, and who participated in the study after being called for volunteers. 60 participants in the research were selected using the G Power program and using the purposeful sampling method and having the criteria for entering the research, and then they were randomly assigned to two experimental (30 people) and control (30 people) groups. The experimental group received 12 sessions, three sessions a week, 2-hour combined therapy of self-compassion and lifestyle modification. In order to collect the data, the core belief questionnaires of eating (ECBQ) by Cooper and colleagues (1997), self-criticising (FSCRS) by Gilbert and colleagues (2004), and weight self-efficacy (WSEQ) by Clark and colleagues (1991) were used. Finally, the data was analyzed by mixed variance method. The results showed that the scores of the experimental group compared to the control group in the post-test and follow-up stage by receiving the combined treatment of self-compassion and lifestyle modification in the core beliefs of eating and self-criticism were significantly reduced and the self-efficacy scores increased (P<0.05). Based on the findings, it can be concluded that the combined treatment of self-compassion and lifestyle modification is effective as a replacement package for modifying core beliefs and self-criticism and increasing weight self-efficacy in obese women.