Aims: With regard the role and importanc of lifestyle in modifying different behaviors and habits such as weight-related behaviors, the present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of traditional lifestyle model on eating behavior in overweight females (With Islamic-Iranian approach).
Materials & Methods: The present study is a semi-experimental research with a pre-test post-test design carried out in 2016. The statistical population consisted of all overweight female psychology students of Azad university of Karaj in 2017; 40 subjects were selected by convenience sampling method and randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. The experimental group was treated in 10 sessions (Each session 90minutes) with a traditional lifestyle model related to weight. The Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) was used; also, a structured clinical interview was used for axis I disorders and a structured clinical interview was used for personality disorders. The data were analyzed with covariance analysis test, using SPSS 24 software.
Findings: There was a significant difference between the scores of the experimental and control groups in eating behavior (F=43.691; effect size=0.541; p=0.0001), emotional eating (F=4.389; effect size=0.106; =p 0.043)), external eating (F=6.947; effect size=0.158; p=0.012), and inhibited eating (F=22.499; effect size=0.378; p=0.0001). Traditional lifestyle model significantly decreased eating behavior and its components.
Conclusion: The Iranian traditional lifestyle model with Islamic approach is effective in modifying eating behavior and its components (eating, emotional eating, and external eating), and traditional medicine, as a therapeutic approach along with new models, can balance eating behavior and its components in weight loss for overweight females.