News Release

Sports settings may help engage Australian men in weight loss

Pilot randomised controlled study indicates feasible delivery of program designed to increase physical activity

Peer-Reviewed Publication

PLOS

Men in Australia are more likely than women to be obese, yet they are underrepresented in weight loss trials. A study published in PLOS Medicine, by Eleanor Quested at Curtin University in Perth, Australia and colleagues found that participants in a men-only, sports-themed weight loss program increased physical activity and lost more weight than men who had not participated, suggesting that men with overweight and obesity may benefit from similarly designed programs.

To understand the feasibility and efficacy of this sports-themed weight loss program targeted towards men, researchers recruited 130 men with overweight or obesity between the ages of 35-65. The participants were then randomly assigned to either a control group or a group that took part in the weight loss intervention of 12 weekly 90 minute sessions designed to promote physical activity, healthy eating, and weight loss. While results suggest the intervention group had greater weight loss, the study was limited by the lack of data on individual session attendance, a high number of participants unreachable when contacted for follow-up on post-study results, and an unrepresentative sample comprised mostly of men of White ethnicity.

Research suggests that sports programs may be an effective way to engage men in physical activity and weight loss, yet few studies have analysed the feasibility and efficacy of implementing these programs. The current study's preliminary cost effectiveness evaluation suggests that the program they piloted may be inexpensive, cost-effective, and associated with increased physical activity and weight loss among participants.

According to the authors, "The pilot findings may be generalizable to delivery of the intervention in other professional sport settings in Australia, and broader implementation may be better achieved by capitalising on roll outs of the program in lower-level state-based leagues, and via adaptations to other sports".

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Research Article

In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper: http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1003136

Funding: Aussie-FIT was funded by Healthway the Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation (EQ; grant number 31953): https://www.healthway.wa.gov.au/. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Open access of this article was financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland under the 2019-2022 program "Regional Initiative of Excellence", project number 012 / RID / 2018/19.

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Citation: Kwasnicka D, Ntoumanis N, Hunt K, Gray CM, Newton RU, Gucciardi DF, et al. (2020) A gender-sensitised weight-loss and healthy living program for men with overweight and obesity in Australian Football League settings (Aussie-FIT): A pilot randomised controlled trial. PLoS Med 17(8): e1003136. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003136

Author Affiliations: Dominika Kwasnicka: Physical Activity and Well-being Research Group, Curtin University, Perth, Australia, School of Psychology, Curtin University, Perth, Australia, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Wroclaw, Poland

Nikos Ntoumanis: Physical Activity and Well-being Research Group, Curtin University, Perth, Australia, School of Psychology, Curtin University, Perth, Australia

Kate Hunt: Physical Activity and Well-being Research Group, Curtin University, Perth, Australia, Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, University of Stirling, Stirling, United Kingdom, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Cindy M. Gray: Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Robert U. Newton: Exercise Medicine Research Institute, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia

Daniel F. Gucciardi: Physical Activity and Well-being Research Group, Curtin University, Perth, Australia, School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science, Curtin University, Perth, Australia

Cecilie Thøgersen-Ntoumani: Physical Activity and Well-being Research Group, Curtin University, Perth, Australia, School of Psychology, Curtin University, Perth, Australia

Jenny L. Olson: Physical Activity and Well-being Research Group, Curtin University, Perth, Australia, School of Psychology, Curtin University, Perth, Australia

Joanne McVeigh: Physical Activity and Well-being Research Group, Curtin University, Perth, Australia, School of Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy & Social Work, Curtin University, Perth, Australia, Movement Physiology Laboratory, School of Physiology, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

Deborah A. Kerr: School of Public Health, Curtin University, Perth, Australia

Sally Wyke: Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Philip J. Morgan: Priority Research Centre in Physical Activity and Nutrition, School of Education, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia

Suzanne Robinson: School of Public Health, Curtin University, Perth, Australia

Marshall Makate: School of Public Health, Curtin University, Perth, Australia

Eleanor Quested: Physical Activity and Well-being Research Group, Curtin University, Perth, Australia, School of Psychology, Curtin University, Perth, Australia


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