A Qualitative Analysis of Barriers to and Facilitators of Successful Weight Loss

Background: Along with the United States obesity epidemic comes extensive weight loss attempts. One way people are attempting to lose weight is through meal replacement programs. Much work has been done to study strategies of structured weight loss programs and examine their success. Limited work has been done to study the specific barriers and facilitators of the real life participants who join weight loss programs. The purpose of this study is to identify, through qualitative research methods, the barriers to and facilitators of weight loss while participating in a meal replacement program. Methods: Twenty-nine members of a meal replacement program participated in six focus groups conducted by a moderator using open-ended questions and probes. Focus groups were held in a private room and audio tape-recorded. Tapes were transcribed verbatim and content analysis was used to analyze transcripts for common weight loss themes. Results: High internal motivation, adherence to the program, receiving support from family, engagement in physical activity, use of program products, and helpful information provided by the health coach were perceived as key facilitators for weight loss. Barriers included problems with physical activity, trouble adhering to the program, struggling in social settings, lack of health coach knowledge, difficulty with nutrition outside of the program, and lack of consistent information provided by the health coach. Conclusions: To improve weight loss success, future studies should build upon the facilitators and address the barriers of each weight loss program

Barriers to and Facilitators of Weight Management in Adults Using a Meal Replacement Program That Includes Health Coaching

Purpose: The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics supports meal replacement (MR) programs as an effective diet-related weight management strategy. While MR programs have been successful promoting initial weight loss, weight regain has been as high as 50% 1 year following MR program participation. The purpose of this article is to identify barriers to and facilitators of weight loss (WL) and weight loss maintenance (WM) among individuals participating in a MR program. Methods: Sixty-one MR program clients participated in focus groups (WL = 29, WM = 32). Barriers and facilitators were discussed until saturation of themes was reached. Focus group transcriptions were coded into themes to identify the barriers to and facilitators of weight management that emerged within each phase. Queries were run to assess frequencies of references to each theme. Results: The primary barriers within the WL phase included program products, physical activity, and social settings. WM phase participants referenced nutrition, lack of health coach knowledge, and physical activity as barriers. Personal benfits, ability to adhere to the program, and family support emerged as leading facilitators for WL phase participants. Personal benefits, health coach support, and physical activity emerged as facilitators by WM phase participants. Conclusions: Health coaches have the unique opportunity to use perceived facilitators to improve participant success, and help participants address their personal barriers in order to progress through successful, long-term weight management. Current health coaching models used in MRP should aim to identify participants’ specific barriers and develop steps to overcome them