Twenty-seven participants were randomized to the
cognitive program. Three withdrawals before start of
therapy were due to change of employment. One person
was excluded after she missed attending the first
therapy session. Seven participants dropped out before
therapy started: 3 because their job situation hindered
them from attending, 3 because they had lost their motivation,
and 1 because her doctor had advised her not
to participate because of medical reasons. The baseline
mean weight of these women was 100.3 kg (SD = 14.8)
as compared to 95.1 kg (SD = 11.5) for rest of the sample
that accomplished the cognitive program and completed
the 18-month follow-up. Taking into account
those who withdrew or dropped out before treatment,
the number of participants in the cognitive program
was 16 (divided into two subgroups of 5 and 11, respectively),
whereas in the control program the number
of participants was 26 (divided into two subgroups of
12 and 14, respectively). Of the 16 women who started
the cognitive program, only 1 did not complete the
10-week treatment. For those 26 women who began the
control program, 20 (77%) completed the 10-week
treatment. Of the 6 women who discontinued, 4 did so
because of their work, 1 because she was on sick leave,
and 1 for unknown reasons.
The mean age of the participants in the cognitive
treatment group was 50.1 years (SD = 7.8, range =
36–61), and in the control group, 47.0 years (SD = 8.2,
range = 24–61; p = .25). Additional demographic data
are presented in Table 1. No statistically significant differences
were observed on any of the demographic
variables between the cognitive treatment group and
the control group.