In post-menopause, most women gain weight, and obesity rates are more prevalent in this particular group. In addition, there is an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes. Given that this weight gain can be related to risk behaviours, healthy weight management (such as an increase in physical activity or healthy eating) is crucial to promote a healthy weight and well-being. The ME-WEL (MEnopause and WEigth Loss) project (ref. SFRH/BD/144525/2019), entails an eHealth intervention for weight management and well-being in post-menopausal women with overweight or obesity, based on two theoretical models of behavioral change - the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA), and the Health Belief Model (HBM), and applying the Behaviour Change Techniques (BCT) Taxonomy and Oxford Food and Activity Behaviors (OxFAB) Taxonomy. This group's eHealth intervention lasts 8 weeks. Each week there is a different theme to be addressed, taking into account the behavioral change models mechanisms, in articulation with different BCT´s and weight strategies. Subjective well-being, self-esteem, weight loss, implementation of weight management strategies, and changes in eating behavior and physical activity/exercise were evaluated, through follow-ups at 3- and 6- post-intervention.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
35
A health literacy flyer was delivered, by e-mail, in the first week of the intervention (the flyer contained its original source - the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control). Beyond this, there was no further interaction with the group. All primary and secondary outcome measures were assessed at baseline, one month later (in the middle of the intervention), post-intervention, and follow-up moments (3 and 6 months after the intervention).
The eHealth intervention was designed based on: i) the Health Action Process Approach determinants, ii) the Health Belief Model constructs, and iii) behaviour change techniques (BCT, Taxonomy v1, by Michie et al., 2013) to implement healthy behaviours. The intervention consists of 8 sessions (90 minutes, once a week). All group intervention sessions, through the Zoom platform, are led by the psychologist responsible for the study. Whatsapp groups were created, to share experiences, knowledge, doubts, fears... All primary and secondary outcome measures were assessed at baseline, one month later (in the middle of the intervention), post-intervention, and in follow-up moments (3 and 6 months after the intervention).
Ispa - Instituto Universitário
Lisbon, Lisbon District, Portugal
Positive and negative affect
Evaluated by "Short-Form of the Portuguese version of the positive and negative affect schedule - PANAS - Port - VRP" (Galinha et al., 2014)
Time frame: Change from Baseline positive and negative affect one month after the intervention´s beginning, one week post-intervention, and at 3- and 6- months follow-ups
Satisfaction with life scale
Evaluated by "Satisfaction with life scale" (Diener et al., 1985)
Time frame: Change from Baseline satisfaction with life scale one month after the intervention´s beginning, one week post-intervention, and at 3- and 6- months follow-ups
Weight management strategies
Measured by the Oxford Food and Activity Behaviors Taxonomy (OxFAB-MAW; Leitão et al., 2023)
Time frame: Change from Baseline weight management strategies one month after the intervention´s beginning, one week post-intervention, and at 3- and 6- months follow-ups
Weight loss
Assessed by Body Mass Index (BMI) - weight and height will be combined to report BMI in kg/m\^2
Time frame: Change from Baseline weight loss one month after the intervention´s beginning, one week post-intervention, and at 3- and 6- months follow-ups
Eating behaviour
Measured by the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R21; Cappelleri et al., 2009)
Time frame: Change from Baseline eating behaviour one month after the intervention´s beginning, one week post-intervention, and at 3- and 6- months follow-ups
Physical Activity
Assessed by the International physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ; Craig et al., 2003)
Time frame: Change from Baseline physical activity one month after the intervention´s beginning, one week post-intervention, and at 3- and 6- months follow-ups
Self-esteem
Assessed by the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSS; Rosenberg, 1965)
Time frame: Change from Baseline self-esteem one month after the intervention´s beginning, one week post-intervention, and at 3- and 6- months follow-ups
Behaviour change (HAPA)
Assessed by HAPA Questionnaire (tailored to weight management), based on Godinho and collaborators' study (Godinho et al., 2014)
Time frame: Change from Baseline behaviour change one month after the intervention´s beginning, one week post-intervention, and at 3- and 6- months follow-ups
Behaviour change (HBM)
Evaluated by HBM questionnaire (tailored to weight management), based on Saghafi-Asl and collaborators' study (2020).
Time frame: Change from Baseline behaviour change one month after the intervention´s beginning, one week post-intervention, and at 3- and 6- months follow-ups
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