Nearly every patient believes weight loss is very important; however weight loss rarely matches the patient’s fervour for this outcome. There is no data on the perceived importance of weight loss or confidence in one’s ability to achieve weight loss with respect to weight or eating and exercise behaviours.
This study aims to determine if a patient’s perception of the importance of weight loss or their confidence in their ability to achieve this is related to attendance, weight loss and starting: BMI, exercise or eating habits, and if there are particular eating styles that are related to a lower level of confidence.
All data was collected during ten, 8 week weight loss group programmes from July 2013 to July 2015. Importance and confidence were measured on a continuous scale from 0-100. Exercise habits (Modified Beacke Physical activity Questionnaire), food habits (the food habits questionnaire), eating style (Three Factor Eating Inventory) and the ability to resist food (WELQ) were also measured.
236 patients completed the “Importance and Confidence” questionnaire (67.5% Females). Mean BMI 47.8 + 10.5 kg/m2, mean age 49.1+ 13.5 yrs. Mean Importance score was 88.6 + 16.8 mode 100, the mean Confidence score was 57.8 + 25.7, mode 50 (moderately confident). A greater Confidence score was associated with increased exercise in leisure time, lower dietary fat, disinhibition, hunger, depression and anxiety score and an increased belief in the ability to resist food in all situations. Increased Importance was related to higher starting BMI, restraint and anxiety scores. Increased confidence and importance were related to increased weight loss but unrelated to attendance.
“Importance and Confidence” ratings are simple measures that are associated with habits, beliefs and outcomes integral to obesity management. Targeting how important people see weight loss and their confidence in their ability to achieve it may improve outcomes.