Design of a lifestyle intervention to slow menopause-related progression of intra-abdominal adipose tissue in women: The Women in the Southside Health and Fitness (WISHFIT) study

Perceived risk factors for weight gain, barriers, and facilitators related to weight loss experienced by perimenopausal women: focus group discussion and thematic analysis

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to understand middle-aged perimenopausal women's perspectives and beliefs regarding their body weight status, and evaluate the barriers, and facilitators associated weight loss.

METHODS

Five focus group discussions were conducted with perimenopausal women (aged 40-55 y) who were recruited through convenience and snowball sampling. Discussions were conducted to understand their experiences related to weight management during the perimenopausal period. The discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed and data analysis was done using Atlas.ti software to generate codes, subthemes, and themes from the discussions.

RESULTS

A total of 23 women with a mean age of 46.6 ± 5.6 years were recruited. Several themes of risk factors of weight gain emerged like difficulty in physical activity, unhealthy eating, overeating, and religious and cultural practices. Appearance and prevention of health-related issues emerged as motivators of initiating weight loss. Barriers faced during weight loss included themes like difficulty in managing diet and activity, stress, socialization, and lack of time. Facilitators of weight loss included intrinsic motivation, experiencing early results and confidence in self-regulation.

CONCLUSION

Women during their perimenopausal phase of life encounter a range of barriers and challenges related to weight loss. An understanding of these barriers might be useful to consider while planning strategies to regulate their weight.

The Effect of an Empowerment Program on the Health-promoting Behaviors of Iranian Women Workers: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objectives

The workplace is an ideal place for encouraging health-promoting behaviors. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine the effect of an empowerment program on the health-promoting behaviors of women workers.

Methods

This randomized clinical trial was conducted with 80 women workers employed at a food packaging facility in 2020. The subjects were selected using convenience sampling and were classified into intervention and control groups using block randomization. An empowerment program for women workers was conducted across 6 sessions based on an empowerment model. Data collection tools included a demographic questionnaire and the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II, which participants completed both before the program and 8 weeks after the last session. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 16 using descriptive analysis and inferential statistics.

Results

There were no significant differences between the 2 groups in various health-promoting behaviors before the program. However, the intervention group’s scores for nutrition (34.92±1.09 vs. 27.87±4.23), physical activity (24.40±2.94 vs. 17.40±5.03), stress management (26.35±2.60 vs. 23.05±4.27), spiritual growth (34.02±3.00 vs. 30.22±5.40), interpersonal relationships (30.82±2.38 vs. 27.60±4.61), and health responsibility (31.60±2.71 vs. 28.22±4.59) were significantly higher than the control group’s 8 weeks after the program had ended. Moreover, there was a significant difference in the total score of health-promoting behaviors for the intervention group compared to the control group (179.00±9.22 vs. 151.42±20.25, p=0.001).

Conclusions

An empowerment program for women workers led to significant improvements in the health-promoting behaviors of the participants. Similar programs can ultimately improve women’s health in the workplace.

A multi-component, community-engaged intervention to reduce cardiovascular disease risk in perimenopausal Latinas: pilot study protocol

BACKGROUND

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk increases substantially during perimenopause. Latinas have a significantly worse CVD risk factor profile than non-Hispanic White women, potentially due to multiple sociocultural and environmental factors. To date, interdisciplinary interventions have not focused on improving nutrition, physical activity, stress management, and biologic CVD risk in perimenopausal Latinas. The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility and initial efficacy of a multi-component intervention to reduce CVD risk in perimenopausal Latinas.

METHODS

This is a two-group, repeated measures experimental study. Eighty perimenopausal Latinas (age 40-55 years) from two community groups will be randomized: one group will complete the intervention; the other will be a wait-list control. The intervention consists of 12-weekly sessions (education, physical activity, stress management, coping skills training), followed by 3 months of continued support, and 6 months of skill maintenance on their own. The primary outcomes include arterial stiffness, blood pressure, lipids, and blood glucose. Secondary outcomes are health behaviors (nutrition, physical activity, sleep, coping strategies), self-efficacy, and other biological factors related to CVD risk (adiposity, C-reactive protein, hair cortisol, vasomotor symptoms). We will assess changes in outcomes from Time 1 (baseline) to Time 2 (6 months) and Time 3 (12 months) using general linear mixed models to test the hypotheses. We will also evaluate the feasibility of the intervention by assessing enrollment and retention rates, barriers, and facilitators to enrollment, intervention fidelity, the suitability of study procedures, and participant satisfaction with the intervention and study protocol. We hypothesize the intervention group will decrease biologic CVD risk and improve health behaviors and self-efficacy significantly more than the wait-list control.

DISCUSSION

Results from this study will contribute to knowledge on the feasibility of behavioral interventions, including stress management and coping skills training, which could reduce CVD burden among perimenopausal Latinas. Because Hispanic/Latinos are the largest ethnic minority in the United States (US), progress regarding CVD risk among perimenopausal Latinas may lead to significant improvement in the overall CVD burden in the US.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Prospectively registered, NCT04313751 (03/19/2020), Protocol version 1.0.