Associations Among Obesity-Related Guilt, Shame, and Coping

Psychological factors proved to have significant influence on the outcome and success of the treatment of obesity, and there might be a psychological mechanism explaining why only a subgroup of the obese population suffers from being overweight. The main hypothesis of this work is that weight-related shame and guilt feelings are psychological factors crucial for both emotional well-being and the success of weight loss attempts. Prior studies found suggestive evidence that this hypothesis might be valid: Obese individuals are likely to experience weight-related shame feelings through the contrast of an overtly visible stigma and the omnipresent thin ideal in society. Weight-related guilt feelings are likely experienced since weight control is still viewed as a matter of willpower by obese as well as nonobese individuals, but unfortunately most weight loss attempts do not remain successful. Consequently, the three manuscripts address the following research questions: Are weight-and body-related shame and guilt concerning weight control separate constructs? Are weight-related shame and guilt feelings associated to BMI? Are shame-based or guilt-based coping responses predictive of weight change? Is it possible to minimize guilt and shame feelings about eating through a counseling approach emphasizing genetic factors in the development of obesity? The first manuscript presents the evaluation of the psychometric properties of a new self-report measure of weight- and body-related shame and guilt (WEB-SG) in a sample of 331 obese individuals. The factorial structure of the WEB-SG supported a two-factor conceptualization. The WEB-SG subscales proved to be internally consistent and temporally stable. The construct validity of the subscales was evidenced by a substantial overlap of common variance with other shame and guilt measures. Also, the subscales showed differential correlation patterns to other scales, but were not substantially associated to BMI. Thus, it appears that the frequency of weight-related shame and guilt feelings in obese individuals may be affected by factors other than weight. The second manuscript presents the longitudinal associations among weight-related coping, guilt, and shame in a sample of 98 obese individuals. The study explored the kind and frequency of typical coping situations in which obese individuals become aware of being obese. Individuals reported mostly negative evaluations through others/self, physical exercise situations, or environmental hazards. Again, the perceived distress about those situations did not differ significantly between levels of obesity, but was strongly correlated to weight-related shame and guilt. Excessive body weight itself does not appear to be the determinant of distress about weight-related situations, but cognitive appraisal of the situation. Furthermore, the study sought to determine the predictive utility of weight-related shame and guilt concerning coping responses. Contrary to the hypothesis, weight-related shame at baseline was a significant negative predictor for problem-focused engagement coping, whereas, as expected, weight-related guilt was a significant positive predictor for problem-focused engagement strategies and dietary restraint at follow-up. Finally, weight loss was accompanied by a substantial drop in problem-focused disengagement coping. The study outlined in the third manuscript tested the effects of a consultation using genetic information about obesity on attitudes about weight loss goals, self-blame about eating, and weight-related coping in obese individuals. For that purpose, we chose a longitudinal experimental design with two intervention groups (n1 = 126; n2 = 127) and a control group (n = 98). Independent variables were the experimental variation of the consultation (with and without genetic information), the familial predisposition (at least one parent/sibling obese vs. no parent/sibling obese), and two assessment points (after consultation and 6-month follow-up). Individuals with and without a familial predisposition profited in different ways from a consultation using genetic information about obesity: At follow-up, individuals with a familial predisposition reported mainly a relieving effect in the form of less self-blame about eating. Both experimental groups, independent of the factors Consultation and Familial Predisposition, reported an adjustment to more realistic weight loss goals and a greater satisfaction with a 5% weight loss. Regarding weight change, the less satisfied obese individuals felt about their current weight at baseline, the higher the risk that these individuals had gained weight at follow-up. In summary, a consultation with genetic information about obesity and feedback of the familial susceptibility seem to be helpful especially for obese individuals with a familial predisposition

Thermodynamic approach to viscosity in the glass transition

The glass transition is re-investigated by means of the formahsm of linear nonequilibrium thermodynamics. The process is treated for melts cooled down below their liquidus temperatures in terms of three events. These events are, in the order of decreasing temperature: by-passing of crystallization, freezing-in of stress relaxation, and freezing-in o f near-range structural relaxation. Conditions for the viscosity levels are derived at which each of these events is accomplished. The model is tested against data of five one-component, three simple binary and ternary, and three multicomponent systems. Within the scope of this test, it is confirmed that the model correctly describes the viscosity levels typical of the glass transition, as well as their dependence on the cooling rate. An explanation for the 10¹³dPa*s rule at Tg is included

Innovative payment e-commerce solutions and their potential impact on customer experience and revenues

Digitisation, globalisation, and new disruptive technologies are consistently changing the way consumers buy goods and services and forcing merchants to attract customers with more customer centric approaches. As research indicates, the checkout process and especially the offered modes of payment can have a strong influence on the overall customer experience and revenues consequently generated by customers. This study aims to contribute to related research by collecting data from online shop customers, gaining more insight into their preferences and motivation in order to shed more light onto the interrelationship of shopping experience, customer satisfaction and shop revenues, especially with regard to innovative payment solutions

Foray search: An effective systematic dispersal strategy in fragmented landscapes

In the absence of evidence to the contrary, population models generally assume that the dispersal trajectories of animals are random, but systematic dispersal could be more efficient at detecting new habitat and may therefore constitute a more realistic assumption. Here, we investigate, by means of simulations, the properties of a potentially widespread systematic dispersal strategy termed "foray search." Foray search was more efficient in detecting suitable habitat than was random dispersal in most landscapes and was less subject to energetic constraints. However, it also resulted in considerably shorter net dispersed distances and higher mortality per net dispersed distance than did random dispersal, and it would therefore be likely to lead to lower dispersal rates toward the margins of population networks. Consequently, the use of foray search by dispersers could crucially affect the extinction-colonization balance of metapopulations and the evolution of dispersal rates. We conclude that population models need to take the dispersal trajectories of individuals into account in order to make reliable predictions

A model-based approach to robot kinematics and control using discrete factor graphs with belief propagation

Much of recent researches in robotics have shifted the focus from traditionally-specific industrial tasks to investigations of new types of robots with alternative ways of controlling them. In this paper, we describe the development of a generic method based on factor graphs to model robot kinematics. We focused on the kinematics aspect of robot control because it provides a fast and systematic solution for the robot agent to move in a dynamic environment. We developed neurally-inspired factor graph models that can be applied on two different robotic systems: a mobile platform and a robotic arm. We also demonstrated that we can extend the static model of the robotic arm into a dynamic model useful for imitating natural movements of a human hand. We tested our methods in a simulation environment as well as in scenarios involving real robots. The experimental results proved the flexibility of our proposed methods in terms of remodeling and learning, which enabled the modeled robot to perform reliably during the execution of given tasks

Genetic screen identifies non-mitochondrial proteins involved in the maintenance of mitochondrial homeostasis

The mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPR mt ) is an important stress response that ensures the maintenance of mitochondrial homeostasis in response to various types of cellular stress. We previously described a genetic screen for Caenorhabditis elegans genes, which when inactivated cause UPR mt activation, and reported genes identified that encode mitochondrial proteins. We now report additional genes identified in the screen. Importantly, these include genes that encode non-mitochondrial proteins involved in processes such as the control of gene expression, post-translational modifications, cell signaling and cellular trafficking. Interestingly, we identified several genes that have been proposed to participate in the transfer of lipids between peroxisomes, ER and mitochondria, suggesting that lipid transfer between these organelles is essential for mitochondrial homeostasis. In conclusion, this study shows that the maintenance of mitochondrial homeostasis is not only dependent on mitochondrial processes but also relies on non-mitochondrial processes and pathways. Our results reinforce the notion that mitochondrial function and cellular function are intimately connected

Ecological and evolutionary processes at expanding range margins

Many animals are regarded as relatively sedentary and specialized in marginal parts of their geographical distributions. They are expected to be slow at colonizing new habitats. Despite this, the cool margins of many species' distributions have expanded rapidly in association with recent climate warming. We examined four insect species that have expanded their geographical ranges in Britain over the past 20 years. Here we report that two butterfly species have increased the variety of habitat types that they can colonize, and that two bush cricket species show increased fractions of longer-winged (dispersive) individuals in recently founded populations. Both ecological and evolutionary processes are probably responsible for these changes. Increased habitat breadth and dispersal tendencies have resulted in about 3- to 15-fold increases in expansion rates, allowing these insects to cross habitat disjunctions that would have represented major or complete barriers to dispersal before the expansions started. The emergence of dispersive phenotypes will increase the speed at which species invade new environments, and probably underlies the responses of many species to both past and future climate change

Landing together: how flocks arrive at a coherent action in time and space in the presence of perturbations

Collective motion is abundant in nature, producing a vast amount of phenomena which have been studied in recent years, including the landing of flocks of birds. We investigate the collective decision making scenario where a flock of birds decides the optimal time of landing in the absence of a global leader. We introduce a simple phenomenological model in the spirit of the statistical mechanics-based self-propelled particles (SPP-s) approach to interpret this process. We expect that our model is applicable to a larger class of spatiotemporal decision making situations than just the landing of flocks (which process is used as a paradigmatic case). In the model birds are only influenced by observable variables, like position and velocity. Heterogeneity is introduced in the flock in terms of a depletion time after which a bird feels increasing bias to move towards the ground. Our model demonstrates a possible mechanism by which animals in a large group can arrive at an egalitarian decision about the time of switching from one activity to another in the absence of a leader. In particular, we show the existence of a paradoxical effect where noise enhances the coherence of the landing process.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure

Swarm intelligence: when uncertainty meets conflict

When animals share decisions with others, they pool personal information, offset individual errors and, thereby, increase decision accuracy. This is termed ‘swarm intelligence.’ But what if those decisions involve conflicts of interest between individual decision-makers? Should animals share decisions with individuals whose goals are different from, and partially in conflict with, their own? A group decision model developed by Larissa Conradt (MPI Berlin) and colleagues finds that, contrary to intuition, conflicting goals often increase both decision accuracy and the individual gains derived from shared decisions. Thus, conflicts of interest, far from hampering effective decision making, can actually improve decision outcomes for all stakeholders, as long as they also have some goals in common. By contrast, conflict-free decisions shared by animals which all have the same goals are often surprisingly poor