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Understanding Obesity, Related Health Risks and Barriers to Weight Management in Women Veterans

  • Laura Kupperman

Student thesis: Doctoral ThesisDoctor of Philosophy

Abstract

The aim of the current study is to understand the health trajectory of female veterans who participated in a VHA sponsored weight management program and explore possible barriers to sustained weight loss and improved metabolic functioning over time. Obesityis a major health concern for discharged service members and women veterans in particular are faced with an increasing prevalence of obesity at a younger age with obese ethnic minorities posing the greatest health risk over time. The current study measured body mass index (BMI), triglycerides, and total cholesterol in female participants enrolled in the MOVE! ® Weight Management Program for Veterans at the Miami VAHS from 2005-2008 (N = 170). The sample was derived from an archival data set andparticipants were predominantly non-Hispanic Black (NHB) (n = 93, 54.7%), with a mean age of 48.26 (SD = 11.77) and BMI of 34.97 (SD = 6.61) at program entry. Medical information was gathered as part of routine primary care and participants were not asked to provide additional information. Multilevel modeling was utilized to measure change in BMI, triglycerides, and total cholesterol across seven time points before and after MOVE! ® participation. For the piecewise model, results showed a positive linear growth pattern in BMI prior to program enrollment, SE = .12, p significant negative predictor of triglycerides, SE = .003, p = .008, and total cholesterol, SE = .27, p = .003. VA user status, small sample size, and other extraneous lifestyle factors not directly measured in the current study may explain the lack of significant differences in BMI found between ethnic groups relative to literature on weight lossoutcomes. Additionally, BMI in women may underestimate their total fat, which for the present study may explain why larger improvements in metabolic functioning were not observed. Future designs may consider measuring waist circumference to understand thecomplex relationship between total fat distribution and markers for poor health and utilizing a tailored approach to weight management.
Date of AwardJan 1 2012
Original languageEnglish
SupervisorBarry Nierenberg (Supervisor), Christian DeLucia (Advisor) & Jason Dahn (Advisor)

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