Characteristics of patients seeking a health promotion and weight reduction program in primary care

Abstract

Purpose

An important task in primary health care (PHC) is to address lifestyle-related diseases. Overweight (OW) individuals make up a large proportion of PHC patients, and they increasingly have lifestyle-related illnesses that influence their quality of life. Structured health promotion and weight reduction programs could help these patients. The objective of this study was to explore the characteristics, lifestyle habits, and health conditions of individuals seeking a health promotion and weight reduction program in PHC.

Patients and methods

The study involved a comparative cross-sectional design performed in PHC in southwestern Sweden. The study population comprised 286 participants (231 women, aged 40–65 years, body mass index [BMI] 28–35 kg/m²) who were recruited between March 2011 and April 2014 to the 2-year program by adverts in local newspapers and recruitment from three PHC centers. Two reference populations were used: a general population group and an OW group. The study population data were collected using a questionnaire, with validated questions regarding health, lifestyle, illnesses, and health care utilization.

Results

People seeking a health promotion and weight reduction program were mostly women. They had a higher education level and experienced worse general health than the OW population, and they visited PHC more frequently than both reference groups. They also felt more stressed, humiliated, had more body pain, and smoked less compared to the general population. However, they did not exercise less or had a lower intake of fruits and vegetables than either reference population.

Conclusion

Individuals seeking a weight reduction program were mostly women with a higher education level and a worse general health than the OW population. They used more health care services compared to the reference groups.

Keywords:

• lifestyle
• overweight
• primary health care
• weight loss

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Prof Gunnar Johansson, who initiated the weight reduction program. We thank Capio Sjukvård AB for the support and Sparbanksstiftelsen Varberg for the production of this publication which does not constitute an endorsement of the study contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, therefore Capio Sjukvård AB and Sparbanksstiftelsen Varberg cannot be held responsible for any use of the information contained therein.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.