Ofcom, London, UK.
Previously Carnegie School of Sport, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK.
Health Expect. 2024 Feb;27(1):e13955. doi: 10.1111/hex.13955.
There continues to be an imbalance of research into weight loss and weight loss maintenance (WLM), with a particular lack of research into WLM in young people under 18 years. Failure to coherently understand WLM in young people may be a potential contributor to the underdeveloped guidance surrounding long-term support. Furthermore, no research has investigated young people's preferences around WLM support following the attendance of a residential intensive weight loss intervention from a qualitative perspective. This study explored the influences of WLM in young people following a residential intensive weight loss intervention, considered how interventions could be improved and sought to develop recommendations for stakeholders responsible for designing WLM interventions.
The context in which this research is framed was taken from a residential Intensive Weight Loss Intervention for young people aged 8-17 years in England. Six semi-structured interviews were carried out to understand the lived experience of WLM, including barriers and enablers influencing WLM, adopting an interpretative phenomenological analysis design.
Three superordinate themes were developed to explain the barriers and enablers to WLM; (1) Behavioural control and the psychosocial skills to self-regulate WLM; (2) Delivering effective social support; and (3) Conflicting priorities and environmental triggers.
The findings of this research mirror that of other studies of WLM in young people, with the majority of young people struggling to maintain weight loss. However, by exploring the experience of WLM in young people through qualitative means, it was possible to understand the specific motivators and barriers influencing WLM behaviours in this context, providing recommendations to support WLM.
The interview guide was developed in consultation with a young person from the intervention, and through discussions with the intervention stakeholders (delivery staff and management staff). The interview guide included topics such as knowledge and skills; experience of weight loss; reflections on weight maintenance, and experiences of daily life postintervention. We piloted the interview schedule with one young person who had consented to take part in the research. This first interview was used to check for understanding of questions and to assess the flow of the interview.
减肥和减肥维持（WLM）的研究仍然存在不平衡，特别是缺乏对 18 岁以下年轻人 WLM 的研究。未能连贯地理解年轻人的 WLM 可能是导致长期支持缺乏指导的潜在因素。此外，没有研究从定性角度调查年轻人在参加住宅密集减肥干预后对 WLM 支持的偏好。本研究探讨了年轻人在参加住宅密集减肥干预后的 WLM 影响，考虑了如何改进干预措施，并试图为负责设计 WLM 干预措施的利益相关者提出建议。
本研究的背景是来自英格兰的一项针对 8-17 岁年轻人的住宅密集减肥干预。进行了六次半结构化访谈，以了解 WLM 的生活体验，包括影响 WLM 的障碍和促进因素，采用解释性现象学分析设计。
为了解释 WLM 的障碍和促进因素，制定了三个上位主题；（1）行为控制和自我调节 WLM 的心理社会技能；（2）提供有效的社会支持；（3）冲突的优先事项和环境触发因素。
本研究的结果与其他关于年轻人 WLM 的研究结果相吻合，大多数年轻人难以保持减肥效果。然而，通过定性方法探索年轻人的 WLM 体验，有可能了解影响这种情况下 WLM 行为的具体动机和障碍，为支持 WLM 提供建议。
访谈指南是在与干预中的一名年轻人协商并与干预利益相关者（提供人员和管理人员）讨论后制定的。访谈指南包括知识和技能；减肥经历；对体重维持的反思；以及干预后日常生活的经历等主题。我们对一名同意参与研究的年轻人进行了访谈计划的试点。第一次访谈用于检查对问题的理解程度和评估访谈的流程。
