Lessons learned about primary weight maintenance and secondary weight maintenance: results from a qualitative study

摘要

BackgroundObesity is now a worldwide problem and Ireland is no exception with approximately two thirds of the adult population now overweight or obese. A recent report has found that 53 % of Irish adults aged 50 years and over are classified as centrally obese and at substantially increased risk of metabolic complications. While most studies investigating weight maintenance have been conducted on those who have managed to lose weight and/or achieved weight loss maintenance (secondary weight maintainers), few studies have been undertaken to understand the attitudes, behaviours, motivations and strategies of those who maintain their weight within normal weight ranges over their lifetime, so called primary weight maintainers. This study aims to explore this issue through qualitative exploration of primary weight maintainers in an Irish University.