Journal
CLINICAL OBESITY
Volume 3, Issue 5, Pages 141-149Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/cob.12028
Keywords
Focus groups; maintainers; regainers; weight loss maintenance
Categories
Funding
- The Coca-Cola Foundation
- State Scholarship Foundation
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Weight loss maintenance is imperative to successful obesity treatment. We qualitatively explored lifestyle behaviours associated with weight regulation, in a sample of Greek volunteers who had lost weight and either maintained or regained it. A 10% intentional loss maintained for at least one year was considered successful maintenance. Volunteers (n = 44, 41% men) formed eight focus groups, four of maintainers and four of regainers. Questions regarded weight loss, weight maintenance or regaining, and beliefs on weight maintenance and regaining. All discussions were tape recorded. Maintainers lost weight on their own, whereas regainers sought professional help. Maintainers exercised during both the loss and maintenance phases, whereas regainers showed inconsistent physical activity levels. Health motives for weight loss were mentioned only by regainers. Emotional eating was a common barrier, but only maintainers compensated for it. Maintainers continuously applied specific strategies to maintain their weight: emphasizing home-cooked meals, high eating frequency, a small dinner, portion size regulation, and sweets' intake regulation. Regainers considered the behaviours leading to weight loss different from their normal lifestyle, and resumed their old habits when the diet was over. However, both groups believed that for long-term success, lifestyle changes need to be permanent.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available