Weight-loss strategies used by the general population: how are they perceived?

Chantal Julia; Sandrine Péneau; Valentina A Andreeva; Caroline Méjean; Léopold Fezeu; Pilar Galan; Serge Hercberg

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0097834

Weight-loss strategies used by the general population: how are they perceived?

PLoS One. 2014 May 22;9(5):e97834. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0097834. eCollection 2014.

Authors

Chantal Julia¹, Sandrine Péneau², Valentina A Andreeva², Caroline Méjean², Léopold Fezeu², Pilar Galan², Serge Hercberg¹

Affiliations

¹ Paris 13 University, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team, Epidemiology and biostatistics Center, Cnam, Paris 5 University, Paris 7 University, Bobigny, France; Department of Public Health, Avicenne Hospital, Bobigny, France.
² Paris 13 University, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team, Epidemiology and biostatistics Center, Cnam, Paris 5 University, Paris 7 University, Bobigny, France.

Abstract

Background: The rising prevalence of obesity and the social pressure for thinness increase the prevalence of dieting. However, little is known about the overall perception of dieting strategies actually used by the general population.

Objectives: Our main objective was to investigate perceptions of weight-loss practices in an observational study in order to identify the most favourable strategy.

Design: Adults from the ongoing Nutrinet-Santé cohort study who had reported engaging in dieting in the three previous years were included in the study. For each diet, detailed information was collected on types of diets, circumstances and perception of the diet, and outcomes. Perceptions were compared across diets using sex-specific mixed effects models.

Result: Among the 48 435 subjects who had completed the respective questionnaire, 12 673 (26.7%, 87.8% of women) had followed at least one weight-loss diet in the previous three years. Diet plans prescribed by health professionals and diets conforming to official dietary recommendations were the most favourably perceived among all assessed weight-loss strategies. Alternatively, commercial diet plans and self-imposed dietary restrictions were more negatively perceived (Odds ratios (OR) for adherence difficulty 1.30 (95% confidence interval (0.99;1.7)) in men and OR 1.92 (1.76;2.10) in women compared to official nutritional guidelines; OR 1.06 (0.82;1.38) in men and OR 1.39 (1.26;1.54) in women respectively) compared to official nutritional guidelines.

Conclusion: Official dietary recommendations could be useful tools for maintaining a dietary balance while following a weight-loss diet.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Diet
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Perception*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Weight Loss*

Grants and funding

The Nutrinet-Santé study is supported by the institutions: Ministere de la Sante (DGS), Institut de Veille Sanitaire (InVS), Institut National de la Prevention et de l'Education pour la Sante (INPES), Fondation pour la Recherche Medicale (FRM), Institut de Recherche en Sante Publique (IRESP), Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (INSERM), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers (CNAM) and Universite Paris 13. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.