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

Figures & data

Table 1 Population characteristics

Characteristics	Study population, n=286	ORP, n=747	GRP, n=4,855
	n (%)	n (%)	n (%)	P-value 1	P-value 2
Men	55 (19.1)	418 (56.0)	2,181 (45.0)	<0.001	<0.001
Women	231 (80.8)	329 (44.0)	2,674 (55.0)	<0.001	<0.001
Mean age, years (SD)	55 (7.1)	53 (7.7)	53 (7.5)	<0.001	<0.001
BMI (SD)	31 (2.0)	30 (1.8)	26 (4.4)	<0.001	<0.001
Education (men)
Low	23 (41.8)	254 (60.8)	1,091 (50.4)	0.007	0.230
Middle	24 (43.6)	102 (24.4)	675 (30.9)	0.003	0.045
High	8 (14.5)	60 (14.4)	408 (18.7)	0.984	0.429
Education (women)
Low	95 (41.1)	165 (50.3)	1,188 (44.5)	0.034	0.333
Middle	82 (35.5)	101 (30.8)	825 (30.9)	0.234	0.148
High	54 (23.4)	62 (18.9)	655 (24.6)	0.186	0.708

Notes: P-value 1 (chi-squared test) = study population compared to the overweight reference population (ORP) (BMI: 28–35 kg/m²). P-value 2 (chi-squared test) = study population compared to the general reference population (GRP). Both reference populations were from a national health survey (HLV 2014). Bold values indicate significance.

Abbreviation: BMI, body mass index.

Figure 1 Dichotomization criteria used for the reference groups from a national health survey in Sweden (HLV 2014).

Notes: *Had five alternatives (based on an ordinal scale). To obtain as pure dichotomous alternatives as possible, the neutral option (option 3) was removed and the answers were dichotomized by merging options 1+2 and correspondingly merging options 3+4.

Table 2 Health questionnaire responses among women

Health factors	Study population, n=212	ORP, n=329	GRP, n=2,674	P-value 1	P-value 2
	% (n)	% (n)	% (n)
Health status
Good general health	50 (101/202)	65 (212/326)	70 (1,843/2,633)	<0.001	<0.001
Good oral health	91 (147/161)	75 (242/323)	76 (2,024/2,663)	<0.001	<0.001
Good well-being	84 (151/180)	77 (253/329)	82 (2,184/2,664)	0.062	0.498
Health condition
Anxiety	35 (63/179)	40 (131/328)	45 (1,196/2,657)	0.269	0.009
Sleep disorders	45 (81/179)	41 (134/328)	41 (1,090/2,658)	0.384	0.293
Stress	62 (111/179)	54 (178/329)	54 (1,436/2,660)	0.082	0.038
Humiliation
Humiliation	34 (60/176)	27 (87/324)	22 (582/2,644)	0.101	<0.001
Symptoms
Shoulder	66 (119/180)	62 (202/325)	60 (1,591/2,651)	0.372	0.111
Hands	64 (115/180)	55 (181/329)	50 (1,329/2,658)	0.049	<0.001
Back	64 (115/180)	58 (190/328)	52 (1,372/2,639)	0.187	<0.001
Fatigue	65 (116/179)	58 (190/328)	53 (1,407/2,654)	0.124	0.002
Disease
Hypertension	31 (54/174)	27 (87/322)	21 (533/2,538)	0.346	0.002
Diabetes	4 (7/177)	6 (19/322)	4 (80/1,992)	0.340	0.999
Health care visits
Doctor	22 (29/131)	44 (140/318)	38 (986/2,595)	<0.001	<0.001
Nurse	39 (51/130)	17 (51/302)	22 (549/2,495)	<0.001	<0.001
Psychologist	11 (14/131)	4 (12/303)	4 (99/2,474)	0.005	<0.001
Physiotherapist	37 (48/131)	17 (52/308)	12 (299/2,493)	<0.001	<0.001
Lifestyle
Daily smoking	5 (9/178)	9 (30/329)	15 (398/2,650)	0.105	<0.001
Fine-ground tobacco (snuff)	1 (2/177)	3 (10/325)	4 (113/2,626)	0.153	0.044
Fruits/vegetables	98 (174/178)	99 (325/328)	99 (2,631/2,658)	0.353	0.208
Low physical activity	15 (26/176)	15 (48/322)	11 (290/2,635)	0.999	0.104
Moderate physical activity	43 (76/176)	48 (155/322)	46 (1,212/2,635)	0.285	0.439
Regular physical activity	25 (44/176)	23 (74/322)	24 (632/2,635)	0.616	0.764
High physical activity	17 (30/176)	14 (45/322)	19 (501/2,635)	0.371	0.512

Notes: P-value 1 (chi-squared test) = study population compared to the overweight reference population (ORP) (BMI: 28–35 kg/m²). P-value 2 (chi-squared test) = study population compared to the general reference population (GRP). Both reference populations were from a national health survey (HLV 2014). Bold values indicate significance.

Table 3 Health questionnaire responses among men

Health factors	Study population, n=54	ORP, n=418	GRP, n=2,181	P-value 1	P-value 2
	% (n)	% (n)	% (n)
Health
Good general health	43 (22/51)	69 (286/414)	70 (1,504/2,149)	<0.001	<0.001
Oral health	95 (35/37)	70 (288/411)	71 (1,541/2,171)	0.001	0.001
Well-being	91 (41/45)	89 (371/417)	87 (1,843/2,118)	0.682	0.429
Health condition
Anxiety	30 (13/44)	26 (108/417)	26 (532/2,161)	0.567	0.550
Sleep disorders	36 (16/45)	35 (146/416)	31 (671/2,165)	0.894	0.473
Stress	62 (28/45)	50 (208/417)	41 (887/2,164)	0.126	0.005
Humiliation
Humiliation	22 (10/45)	15 (61/408)	15 (523/2,155)	<0.001	<0.001
Symptoms
Shoulder	66 (29/44)	52 (216/415)	45 (972/2,160)	0.077	0.006
Hands	51 (23/45)	48 (201/418)	43 (930/2,163)	0.702	0.284
Back	60 (27/45)	50 (208/415)	46 (992/2,156)	0.203	0.062
Fatigue	49 (22/45)	43 (179/417)	42 (908/2,162)	0.441	0.347
Diseases
Hypertension	52 (22/42)	44 (182/413)	24 (498/2,073)	0.321	<0.001
Diabetes	5 (2/44)	6 (19/322)	7 (139/1,992)	0.792	0.606
Health care visits
Doctor	28 (9/32)	36 (146/406)	32 (667/2,085)	0.363	0.630
Nurse	28 (9/32)	27 (107/396)	22 (442/2,008)	0.903	0.412
Psychologist	3 (1/32)	2 (8/392)	3 (60/1,990)	0.703	0.999
Physiotherapist	34 (11/32)	9 (35/394)	8 (161/2,009)	<0.001	<0.001
Lifestyle
Daily smoking	2 (1/45)	9 (37/415)	13 (279/2,144)	0.107	0.029
Fine-ground tobacco (snuff)	18 (8/45)	27 (113/418)	20 (429/2,147)	0.192	0.740
Fruits/vegetables	93 (42/45)	95 (394/415)	97 (2,095/2,160)	0.566	0.124
Low physical activity	7 (3/44)	19 (78/409)	13 (279/2,145)	0.048	0.240
Moderate physical activity	45 (20/44)	48 (196/409)	46 (987/2,145)	0.705	0.895
Regular physical activity	30 (13/44)	22 (90/409)	25 (536/2,145)	0.230	0.449
High physical activity	18 (8/44)	11 (45/409)	16 (343/2,145)	0.170	0.721

Notes: P-value 1 (chi-squared test) = study population compared to the overweight reference population (ORP) (BMI: 28–35 kg/m²). P-value 2 (chi-squared test) = study population compared to the general reference population (GRP). Both reference populations were from a national health survey (HLV 2014). Bold values indicate significance.