Workday Sitting Time and Marital Status: Novel Pretreatment Predictors of Weight Loss in Overweight and Obese Men.
The evidence base for weight loss programs in men is limited. Gaining a greater understanding of which personal characteristics and pretreatment behaviors predict weight loss and attrition in male-only studies would be useful to inform the development of future interventions for men. In December 2010, 159 overweight/obese men (mean age = 47.5 years; body mass index = 32.7 kg/m2) from the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, participated in a randomized controlled trial testing the effectiveness of two versions of a 3-month gender-targeted weight loss program. In the current analyses, social-cognitive, behavioral, and demographic pretreatment characteristics were examined to determine if they predicted weight loss and attrition in the participants over 6 months. Generalized linear mixed models (intention-to-treat) revealed weight change was associated with education level ( p = .02), marital status ( p = .03), fat mass ( p = .045), sitting time on nonwork ( p = .046), and workdays ( p = .03). Workday sitting time and marital status accounted for 6.5% ( p = .01) of the variance in the final model. Attrition was associated with level of education ( p = .01) and body fat percentage ( p = .01), accounting for 9.5% ( p = .002) of the variance in the final model. This study suggests men who spend a lot of time sitting at work, especially those who are not married, may require additional support to experience success in self-administered weight loss programs targeting males. Additional high-quality evidence is needed to improve the understanding which pretreatment behaviors and characteristics predict weight loss and attrition in men.
1 University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.
Philip J
PJ
Morgan
1 University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.|2 University of Southampton, United Kingdom.
Jenna L
JL
Hollis
1 University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.
Myles D
MD
Young
1 University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.
Clare E
CE
Collins
3 University of Lisbon, Lisboa, Portugal.
Pedro J
PJ
Teixeira
D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004522:Educational Status; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D009517:New South Wales; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D050177:Overweight / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015397:Program Evaluation; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D000077708:Sitting Position; D013997:Time Factors; D015431:Weight Loss; D061217:Weight Reduction Programs / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014937:Work
attrition; male; obesity; predictor; weight loss