The Decision to Lose Weight

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to describe the reasons people give for deciding to lose weight compared by weight history and gender. The sample consisted of 162 Caucasian community volunteers. Data were obtained from an extensive open-ended interview that was analyzed using content analysis. Respondents were categorized into five groups, according to their success at weight loss: Successful, Always Normal Weight, Underweight, Clinically Successful, and Always Obese. The Clinically Successful and Always Obese were included in the category Unsuccessful Dieter. Reasons given for entering a weight-loss regime included attractiveness or appearance, health, fear, self-esteem issues, age, and competition. For the Successful Dieter, attractiveness and health were the two major motivations. Men and women were similar in their reasons for entering a weight-loss program. The issue of what makes a decision of sufficient importance to maintain weight loss remains unexplained. "Centrality" is offered as a possible explanation.

Intentions to Prevent Weight Gain in Older and Younger Adults; The Importance of Perceived Health and Appearance Consequences

“…In line with our expectations, we found that perceived consequences of weight gain (adjusted for perceived weight, age and demographic co-variates) differed between men and women in the sample, with women perceiving greater negative health and appearance consequences it they were to gain weight. This was an anticipated finding, likely to reflect differences in weight consciousness between women and men [15,26,27,28]. Contrary to our hypothesis, there were no significant differences between the two age groups in terms of the extent to which they perceived negative health and appearance consequences although, among women, older participants reported fewer perceived consequences of weight gain for their appearance compared with younger women.…”

Bariatric surgery or lifestyle intervention? An exploratory study of severely obese patients’ motivation for two different treatments

“…In our process of organising a comprehensive alternative to try to match gastric bypass, we found it necessary to learn more about patients' motivation for treatment. Recent research reveals an increased interest for obese patients' motivation with publications on topics including patients' expectations to and how patients value different treatment outcomes [6]; patients' reasons for wanting to loose weight [7][8][9]; and the possible link between motivation and treatment outcome [10]. However, literature provide only limited insight into why obese patients refuse treatment [3], and none at all on why they choose one treatment rather than another.…”

Medical triggers are associated with better short- and long-term weight loss outcomes

“…Medical events are commonly reported as triggers for weight loss initiation [1], but it is unknown whether experiencing a medical trigger is associated with better initial weight loss and sustained weight loss over time. In other areas of behavioral medicine, medical events have been shown to prompt long-term behavior change [2 -6].…”