The importance of community consultation and social support in adhering to an obesity reduction program: results from the Healthy Weights Initiative

Figures & data

Table 1 Healthy Weight Initiative participant demographics

Demographics	Percent
Sex
Male	25.9
Female	74.1
Age category (years)
18–25	6.2
26–34	17.7
25–44	24.7
45–54	23.0
55–64	27.6
Missing	0.8
Marital status
Married	61.7
Common law	10.3
Single	27.2
Missing	0.8
Education level
Less than high school	7.8
High school	36.6
College/technical/trade	40.7
University	13.2
Missing	1.6
Employment status
Unemployed	17.3
Nonprofessional	72.0
Professional	8.2
Retired	1.6
Missing	0.8
Chronic disease comorbidities
At least one reported	69.5
None reported	27.6
Missing	2.9

Note: N=229.

Table 2 Healthy Weights Initiative change in weight and size

Physical measures	Pre-mean (SD)	Post-mean (SD)	Change	Significance
Weight (lbs)	237.4 (45.2)	227.9 (42.9)	−9.5	0.000
Male	254.8 (44.1)	244.5 (42.6)	−10.3
Female	230.9 (44.0)	221.9 (41.5)	−9.0
Body fat (lbs)	103.4 (31.8)	72.4 (43.5)	−31.0	0.000
Male	96.1 (36.3)	69.2 (40.1)	−26.9
Female	106.5 (28.8)	73.6 (44.7)	−32.9
Percent body fat	44.8 (5.1)	40.9 (5.3)	−3.9	0.000
Male	39.0 (5.0)	34.9 (5.0)	−4.1
Female	46.9 (3.1)	43.2 (3.4)	−3.7
BMI (kg/m^2)	37.7 (6.6)	36.0 (6.2)	−1.7	0.000
Male	36.3 (5.9)	34.8 (5.9)	−1.5
Female	38.2 (6.8)	36.4 (6.3)	−1.8
Waist circumference (in)	45.2 (5.3)	42.3 (5.1)	−2.9	0.000
Male	47.7 (5.1)	44.8 (5.3)	−2.9
Female	44.2 (5.1)	41.4 (4.7)	−2.8
Hip circumference (in)	50.6 (6.0)	48.3 (5.6)	−2.3	0.000
Male	48.2 (5.1)	45.8 (4.9)	−2.4
Female	51.4 (6.1)	49.2 (5.6)	−2.2

Abbreviations: SD, standard deviation; BMI, body mass index.

Table 3 Healthy Weights Initiative – change is physical and mental health measures

Physical and mental health measures	Pre-mean (SD)	Post-mean (SD)	Change	Significance
Blood glucose (mmol/L)	6.0 (2.3)	5.9 (2.0)	−0.1	0.791
Blood cholesterol (mmol/L)	5.0 (1.1)	4.5 (1.2)	−0.5	0.000
Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg)	84.4 (11.2)	81.2 (8.8)	−3.2	0.000
Systolic blood pressure (mmHg)	131.5 (13.0)	125.6 (8.3)	−5.9	0.000
Average musculoskeletal pain	3.6 (2.5)	2.7 (2.0)	−0.9	0.000
Aerobic quantitative fitness score	199.7 (106.7)	271 (88.2)	+71.3	0.000
Self-report health (1–5)	2.4 (0.8)	3.2 (0.9)	+0.8	0.000
Depression score	10.2 (7.1)	4.9 (4.5)	−5.3	0.000
Self-report mental health (1–5)	3.2 (0.9)	3.5 (0.8)	+0.3	0.000

Abbreviation: SD, standard deviation.

Table 4 Healthy Weights Initiative – SF-36 dimensions

Dimension	Pre-mean (SD)	Post-mean (SD)	Change	Significance
Physical functioning	71.6 (21.3)	86.1 (17.4)	+14.5	0.000
Role limitations due to physical health	66.1 (38.8)	81.5 (33.3)	+15.4	0.000
Pain	68.0 (23.2)	75.8 (21.1)	+7.8	0.000
General health	54.0 (22.6)	68.8 (19.6)	+14.8	0.000
Vitality	43.3 (19.5)	64.5 (18.1)	+21.2	0.000
Social functioning	77.2 (23.5)	88.0 (18.2)	+10.8	0.000
Role limitations due to emotional health	74.5 (37.2)	84.1 (30.4)	+9.6	0.000
Emotional well-being	69.2 (17.5)	80.4 (13.2)	+11.2	0.000

Abbreviations: SF-36, Short Form-36; SD, standard deviation.

Table 5 Significant associations with program completion of the Healthy Weights Initiative and independent risk indicators associated with non-completion

Significantly associated variables	Completed (%)	Not completed (%)	P-value
Education level			0.005
High school or less	71 (41.0)	29 (64.4)
Postsecondary	102 (59.0)	16 (35.6)
Depressed mood			0.029
Moderate/severe depressed mood	13 (7.6)	9 (20.9)
Mild depressed mood	42 (24.6)	7 (16.3)
No depressed mood	116 (67.8)	27 (62.8)
Buddy social support contract			0.046
Buddy did not sign contract	78 (63.4)	24 (82.8)
Buddy signed contract	45 (36.6)	5 (17.2)
Barriers to exercise
Past negative experiences			0.036
Very much a barrier	15 (15.3)	1 (6.3)
Somewhat a barrier	16 (16.3)	7 (43.8)
Not really or at all a barrier	67 (68.4)	8 (50.0)
Independent variables	Odds ratio	95% confidence interval	P-value
High school or less than high school education level	2.90	1.20–7.03	0.018
Completed social support contract	2.91	1.01–8.34	0.047

Note: Reference categories – postsecondary education and no social support contract.