STAGES OF WEIGHT CONTROL SURVEY RESULTS

On this page you will find the results of our survey of the Stages of Weight Control that we conducted with readers of the Gazette’s “Shaping Up” column.

Table 1 presents the breakdown of stage frequencies for female and male participants. In Tables 2 – 5 are the ages, weights, body mass index, and desired weight loss for people in each stage.

In Tables 6-11 we have presented the changes in weight over the past 3 and 12 months.

These results give us some idea of the differences between people at various stages. Evidently, people at higher stages are somewhat lighter, and closer to their weight goals. There is also a relationship between the stages and recent weight changes, with those at earlier stages generally having gained weight in the past year, while those at higher stages have lost. The small group of people at stage 7 is already at a desirable weight, and has remained stable for the past year.

As was mentioned in the “Shaping Up” column, we are continuing to explore the meaning and mechanisms of these stages and the movements between stages. In order to further this work, we are looking for people of all stages who would be willing to participate in an interview, either by phone or in person. If you would be interested in helping out, please email us at montrealcomprehensive@gmail.com

The following Tables present results for female participants only. Due to the small number of men at each stage, such comparisons were not reliable.