UNDERSTANDING WEIGHT LOSS MAINTENANCE IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN: A QUALITATIVE EXPLORATION

Postmenopausal women are treasures in our community. They contribute to society in countless ways, often using their life experience, wisdom, and resilience to serve as caregivers, mentors, and educators. As women age, hormonal changes contribute to increased abdominal adiposity and subsequent metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease, cancers, and bone and joint problems. Weight loss and maintenance of that loss likely contribute to decreased risk factors of comorbidities associated with excess weight and increased daily functioning and fulfillment of desired tasks. Weight management strategies are well-studied. However, postmenopausal women are more likely to regain weight lost. This work explores the gap in knowledge concerning postmenopausal women and weight loss maintenance. Understanding the weight loss maintenance experience in postmenopausal women is crucial to ensure that this population can benefit from the health benefits of maintaining weight loss. The first manuscript is a concept analysis of weight loss maintenance, clarifying that the threshold for long-term weight loss maintenance ranges from 1-3 years and includes the characteristic of an amount of weight loss that is sustained. Therefore, maintaining weight loss and preventing weight regain demonstrates that an individual has achieved sustained weight loss. The second manuscript is a scoping review that provides insight into the psychological factors influencing weight loss maintenance in postmenopausal women. The results indicated that greater self-efficacy is associated with greater weight loss maintenance, and mindfulness engagement and the use of coping strategies during stress positively affect dietary practices. Manuscripts and 2 informed the study presented in manuscript 3, employing an interpretive phenomenological technique within a hermeneutic framework to understand the lived experiences of women with postmenopausal weight loss maintenance. Data was gathered through individual interviews. Interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to examine the participants' replies. The themes guided the interpretation of participants' reports of their experiences in sustaining weight loss.