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Review
. 2025 May 10;14(1):41.
doi: 10.1007/s13679-025-00634-y.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Obesity

Leah M Schumacher  1   2 , Nicole Miller  3   4 , Emma L Jennings  3   4 , Reena Chabria  3   4 , Meghan L Butryn  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Obesity

Leah M Schumacher et al. Curr Obes Rep. .

Abstract

Purpose of review: To describe the recent literature on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) interventions for individuals with obesity. The review begins with a brief overview of the ACT model, describes seminal work in this area, and examines more recent literature on the use of ACT to improve outcomes among individuals with obesity.

Recent findings: Early trials established ACT's efficacy for weight loss among adults with obesity. More recent research has focused on testing efficacy among adolescents, measuring effects in "real world" settings, refining interventions to optimize outcomes and enhance scalability, and examining outcomes beyond weight (e.g., internalized weight stigma, eating regulation). Current data indicate that ACT-based interventions produce comparable, or, in some cases, superior weight loss compared to standard behavioral interventions. ACT has also shown promise for improving other outcomes of interest. ACT may improve a variety of obesity-related outcomes, although additional research is needed.

Keywords: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy; Adherence; Obesity; Overweight; Weight Loss; Weight Stigma.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent: This article does not contain any studies with human subjects performed by any of the authors. Competing Interests: MLB reports grant funding from the National Institutes of Health to study the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy, as well as royalties from Oxford University Press and New Harbinger Press for books published on the topic of acceptance and commitment therapy. The other authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Key Components of ACT model as applied to obesity. Boxes with a thick border are section headers. Boxes with a thin border are model components. Arrows indicate hypothesized effects.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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