Clients' views of weight management programme in the community.

Abstract

Overweight and obesity, together with their related non communicable diseases, are mainly preventable (WHO, 2010). The Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Directorate in Malta offers free weight reducing classes at the local Health Centers to assist individuals in weight control. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the views of clients regarding weight management programme in the Community in Malta. There were three objectives in this study, namely, to find out how participants learned about weight reducing programme, their views regarding how the course was organized, and regarding the course content. Literature search revealed few related studies. In this descriptive study, data was collected by means of a self administered anonymous questionnaire distributed to 60 clients, male and female aged between 25 and 75 years, during their last session of the weight reduction classes. This was a convenience sample including all participants of courses held during the data collection time. There were 45 responses out of 60 distributed questionnaires giving a response rate of 75%. Analysis was done using quantitative analysis. Findings showed that participants valued the weight sessions and the facilitator in learning about healthy lifestyles. These imply that although not all participants managed to reduce weight as much as they wished, they still appreciated the awareness they acquired about healthy foods and regular exercise. The main recommendations are to devise weight reducing programmes timetable according to participants' needs, use the media for more information regarding weight reducing programmes and on-going support after weight sessions have ended so clients are more empowered to maintain weight.