Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2017 Jan;18(1):32-50.
doi: 10.1111/obr.12466. Epub 2016 Sep 21.

Prevalence of personal weight control attempts in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

I Santos  1 , F F Sniehotta  2   3 , M M Marques  1 , E V Carraça  1 , P J Teixeira  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Prevalence of personal weight control attempts in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

I Santos et al. Obes Rev. 2017 Jan.

Abstract

The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to estimate the prevalence of personal weight control attempts (weight loss and/or maintenance) worldwide and to identify correlates, personal strategies used and the underlying motives. We included epidemiological/observational studies of adults (≥18 years) reporting prevalence of weight control attempts in the past-year. Seventy-two studies (n = 1,184,942) met eligibility criteria. Results from high quality studies showed that 42% of adults from general populations and 44% of adults from ethnic-minority populations reported trying to lose weight, and 23% of adults from general populations reported trying to maintain weight annually. In general population studies, higher prevalence of weight loss attempts was observed in the decade of 2000-2009 (48.2%), in Europe/Central Asia (61.3%) and in overweight/obese individuals and in women (p < 0.01). Of the 37 strategies (grouped in 10 domains of the Oxford Food and Activity Behaviours Taxonomy) and 12 motives reported for trying to control weight, exercising and dieting (within the energy compensation and restraint domains, respectively) and wellbeing and long-term health were the most prevalent. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review to investigate weight control attempts worldwide. Key strategies and motives were identified which have implications for future public health initiatives on weight control.

Keywords: Maintenance; motives; strategies; weight loss.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of studies.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot for prevalence estimates of weight loss attempts in general populations excluding studies with methodological limitations (k = 34).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Jensen MD, Ryan DH, Apovian CM et al. 2013 AHA/ACC/TOS guideline for the management of overweight and obesity in adults: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines and The Obesity Society. Circulation 2014; 129: S102–S138. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Butland B, Webb S, Kopelman P, et al. Tackling obesities: future choices – project report, Government Office for Science 2007. - PubMed
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Best practices for comprehensive tobacco control programs – 2014. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Of ce on Smoking and Health, 2014.
    1. Raynor HA, Champagne CM. Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: interventions for the treatment of overweight and obesity in adults. J Acad Nutr Diet 2016; 116: 129–147. - PubMed
    1. Teixeira PJ, Going SB, Sardinha LB, Lohman TG. A review of psychosocial pre‐treatment predictors of weight control. Obes Rev 2005; 6: 43–65. - PubMed