Reasons and Barriers to Lose Weight: Obese Adolescents’ Point of View
Mara Cristina Lofrano-Prado, James O. Hill, Humberto José Gomes Silva, Camila Rodrigues Menezes de Freitas, Clara Maria Silvestre Monteiro de Freitas, Moacir de Novaes de Lima Ferreira, Wagner Luiz do Prado
Journal of Advances in Medicine and Medical Research · pp. 474–482 · Published 27 Feb 2013
10.9734/BJMMR/2013/2313Abstract
Aims: To identify the reasons why obese adolescents seek weight loss therapy and what barriers they face in losing weight. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Physical Education and School Medical Science, University of Pernambuco 2009-11. Methodology: The study was conducted with 128 obese adolescents (76 girls [BMI=35.46±3.92] and 52 boys [BMI=33.70±2.88]), aged between 12 to 18 years old. Personal reasons for seeking weight loss treatment and barriers to losing weight were obtained by an individual semi-structured interview (8 questions) conducted by a psychologist. All individual interviews lasted approximately 20 min and were performed in a quiet room. Adolescents’ answers were semi-transcribed by the researcher and the content was anonymously analyzed in order to categorize the data. Results: The main reason for girls to start a weight loss program was to become healthy (39.47%), followed by to fit in clothes (30.26%), personal appearance (30.26%), and bullying (28.95%). Physical fitness (40.38%) was the most important reason to seek weight loss for boys, followed by to become healthy (36.54%), and bullying (25%). For both genders, the main barriers described were lack of self-control (47.37% - 36.54%), lack of social support (27.63% - 30.77%), and self-motivation (22.37% - 21.15%). Conclusion: Obese adolescents had several reasons for seeing weight loss. Overall, becoming healthy was the main motivation for weight loss and lack of self-control was the main barrier. This information can be used to help develop more effective weight loss strategies for obese adolescents.
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