Practitioner’s Perspective on Activities and Outcomes of the Weight Management Program: A Qualitative Study

This study aims to explore the activities and outcomes of weight management programs from the practitioner’s perspective. A qualitative approach was employed in this study, which included in-depth interview and document analysis. Ten practitioners with experience and diverse backgrounds were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Concurrently, document analsis was utilised by examining the printed and online documents provided by the practitioners. The verbatim transcripts and documents were analysed thematically by using Nvivo 12 software. Thematic analysis revealed four themes that represent the key activities generally executed in weight management programs: 1) nutrition and physical activities; 2) screening and monitoring; 3) motivation and spirituality, and 4) task and challenge. This study found two uncommon activities rarely mentioned in previous programs: spirituality and challenge. Practitioners also highlighted activities in the program had positive effects on participants, including: 1) demonstrating positive selfchange; 2) influencing their surroundings, and 3) cost savings. Notably, combining these activities could lead to improved outcomes, particularly when participants are fully committed to the program. In conclusion, this study identified four primary activities and three positive outcomes from the weight management programs. From the practitioner’s perspective, integrating these activities was seen as a good strategy to achieve an optimal result. Hence, it is recommended that future practitioners to incorporate and diversify the activities to enhance their effectiveness.