Weight Change in Middle Age
Weight Loss Study Aim
To explore men's and women's experiences of weight change in adulthood,
body image preferences and beliefs about the health consequences of overweight
and to inform the development of a primary care intervention to prevent
obesity.
Weight Loss Study Subjects
Seventy-two men and women aged 35-55, with a range of BMIs from 22 to
29.9, were identified from two UK general practice registers and invited
to participate in an interview about experiences of weight change in adulthood.
Weight Loss Study Methods
Audio tape recorded, semi-structured interviews were conducted in respondents'
homes by trained researchers. Open-ended questions were used to collect
experiences of weight change since early adulthood and views about weight
change in middle age. Illustrations of a range of men's and women's body
shapes were used to prompt discussion of respondents' preferences for
male and female body shapes and their perspectives of the health, social
and practical problems associated with underweight and overweight. The
data were analysed using both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Weight Loss Study Results
Some 87 percent (33/38) of the women and 59 percent (20/34) of the men
said that they had ever tried to lose weight. At least one instance of
successful weight loss was reported by 58 percent of the women and 47
percent of the men, although many of these attempts were relatively short-lived
and often motivated by specific goals such as a holiday or a wedding.
Respondents were sceptical of the possibility of controlling weight without
considerable personal sacrifice. Explanations for middle-age weight gain
included a sedentary lifestyle, as well as several gender-specific reasons,
including hormonal changes and comfort eating for women and beer drinking
for men. Nearly all (97 percent) respondents associated heart disease
with overweight, while diabetes was mentioned by only 22 percent and none
mentioned cancer.
Weight Loss Study Conclusion
People who have gained weight in middle age may be deterred from trying
to prevent further gain by pessimism about the effort required. The efficacy
of interventions to encourage relatively small substitutions and changes
to diet and physical activity need to be tested. Interventions to help
prevent weight gain in middle age could include information about the
less widely known health risks such as diabetes and cancer.
Source: International Journal of Obesity
(2002)
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