Components Of Lifestyle Interventions Research Articles

Optimising weight gain in pregnancy: key challenges and solutions for maternal obesity prevention.

Pregnancy is a high-risk period for excess gestational weight gain and subsequent obesity development. Antenatal lifestyle interventions are prioritised to optimise weight, with current evidence demonstrating efficacy and associated reduction in risk of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Yet, evidence to guide the field from efficacy-based to implementation research within real-world settings is lacking, and several key challenges remain. Here, we discuss key considerations to support the implementation of accessible, relevant, effective, and low-cost lifestyle interventions in routine pregnancy care. This includes identifying what components of lifestyle interventions are most effective, with pragmatic guidance on how to conduct implementation research, improving rigour in reporting to ensure learnings from implementation are captured, and recognising and addressing the socioecological aspects of obesity prevention, including supporting women living with socioeconomic disadvantage and reducing weight stigma.

Motivations to exercise in young men following a residential weight loss programme conducted in National Service - a mixed methods study

BackgroundPhysical activity is a critical component of lifestyle interventions to reduce body weight and maintain weight loss. The goal of this study was to examine the motivations to exercise in young men following a 5-month residential weight loss programme conducted in the Singapore military as part of National Service.MethodsWe conducted a sequential mixed methods study starting with three focus groups comprising 21 programme instructors. Fifteen former programme participants aged 20.8 years (±1.4) with an average body mass index (BMI) of 29.3 kg/m2 (±4.6) were interviewed in-depth over a total duration of 9 h. Another 487 current programme participants aged 20.8 years (±1.1), BMI 27.1 kg/m2 (±2.6), completed a survey on weight loss, physical fitness, and motivations to exercise using the Behaviours Regulating Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ-3). Qualitative data was coded thematically using the six constructs of exercise motivation described by self-determination theory: amotivation, external, introjected, identified and integrated regulation and intrinsic motivation. Quotes from interviewees were cross-tabulated according to their weight maintenance trajectories. BREQ-3 responses were analysed according to initial body mass index (BMI), percentage weight loss and fitness.ResultsOver the course of the residential programme interview and survey participants experienced an average weight loss of 15.6 kg (±6.5) and 13.0 kg (±5.4) respectively. Among the fifteen interviewees seven had gained no more than 34% of initial weight loss 6 months after completing the programme while another eight had gained more than 51%. We elicited three key themes from the data: (1) Barriers to exercise; (2) diminishing extrinsic motivation; and (3) unidentified exercise benefits. The integration of findings uncovered reinforcing motivational patterns in the areas of health, fitness, camaraderie and identified regulation. Narratives of self-acceptance and shift-work environments gave rise to potentially deleterious motivational patterns. Our findings suggest that successful transition from a residential programme to independent weight management requires a more deliberate pivot from predominantly extrinsic to intrinsic motivational approaches.ConclusionResidential programmes such as the one investigated here, should develop a deliberate transition strategy, replace weight loss targets with physical performance goals and promote sports that are appropriate for young men affected by overweight and obesity.

The role of parents in pre‐adolescent and adolescent overweight and obesity treatment: a systematic review of clinical recommendations

The study aims to describe clinical recommendations (i) on the role of parents in both pre-adolescent and adolescent overweight and obesity treatment; (ii) to health professionals on how to involve parents in paediatric overweight and obesity treatment and (iii) to identify deficiencies in the associated literature. A systematic literature review was conducted in March 2010 to identify clinical practice guidelines, position or consensus statements on clinical management of paediatric overweight or obesity, developed by a national or international health professional association or government agency, and endorsed for current use. Relevant clinical recommendations in these documents were identified via a screen for the words 'parent', 'family' and synonyms. Twenty documents were included. Most documents emphasized the importance of involving parents or the family in paediatric overweight and obesity treatment with approximately a third of documents providing separate recommendations on the role of parents/family for pre-adolescents and adolescents. The documents varied markedly with regard to the presence of recommendations on parent/family involvement in the various components of lifestyle interventions or bariatric surgery. Almost half of the documents contained recommendations to health professionals regarding interactions with parents. High-quality research is needed on age-specific techniques to optimize the involvement of parents and family members in paediatric overweight and obesity treatment.