Developing a comprehensive understanding of attrition in an NHS weight management service for adults with obesity

The aim of this thesis was to comprehensively understand attrition in an NHS weight management service for adults with obesity. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were utilised for this thesis, which consisted of three research phases. The first phase was a systematic review of attrition in weight management interventions for adults with obesity, which was conducted to provide a synthesis of existing literature and inform the primary research. Phase two involved semi-structured interviews to explore 37 participants’ experiences of the weight management service, focused on attrition. Phase 3 was an observational cohort study analysed using logistic regression to identify predictors of completion and early dropout in a sample of 329 participants from the weight management service.   

Ethical approval was granted by Cardiff Metropolitan University (ID 10594 / PGR-1162), and Wales REC 7 (Ref 18/WA/1021) (IRAS: 240002).