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. 2025 Jul 23:13:1615478.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1615478. eCollection 2025.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding body weight management among patients with overweight or obesity: a cross-sectional study

Wenjun Shi #  1 , Cuiliu Ma #  2 , Guishan Zhang  2 , Zhijiao Xu  2 , Xing Liu  3 , Yang Li  2 , Cuijing Zhang  1
Affiliations

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding body weight management among patients with overweight or obesity: a cross-sectional study

Wenjun Shi et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to weight management among overweight or obese patients.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in May 2024 at the First Hospital of Zhangjiakou, focusing on overweight or obese patients. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect demographic data and assess participants' KAP scores.

Results: A total of 527 valid responses were obtained, with 299 (56.74%) respondents being female. The mean scores for knowledge, attitudes, and practices were 6.09 ± 2.93 (possible range: 0-11), 22.79 ± 3.02 (possible range: 8-40), and 32.89 ± 9.72 (possible range: 9-45), respectively. Correlation analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between knowledge and practices (r = 0.305, P < 0.001), and a negative relationship between attitudes and practices (r = -0.516, P < 0.001). Structural equation modeling showed that knowledge directly influenced attitudes (β = 0.897, P = 0.008), and attitudes directly influenced practices (β = 1.108, P = 0.008). Additionally, knowledge had an indirect effect on practices through attitudes (β = 0.994, P = 0.007).

Conclusions: Overweight or obese patients demonstrated inadequate knowledge, negative attitudes, and proactive practices toward weight management. These findings highlight the need for targeted educational interventions to enhance weight management knowledge and foster positive attitudes, ultimately leading to improved health practices within this population.

Keywords: attitudes; knowledge; obesity; overweight; patient education; practices; weight management.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Diagram depicting a structural equation model with three main constructs: Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice. Knowledge is linked to eleven indicators (K1-K11) and Attitude and Practice are linked by arrows. Attitude has eight indicators (A1-A8) and Practice has nine (P1-P9). Each indicator is linked with an error term (e1-e30). Arrows indicate paths with numerical values, representing relationships and effects among constructs.
Figure 1
Structural equation model.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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