A new study launches this week to investigate the strategies people use to lose weight.
The online study focuses on what people actually do, as opposed to the things health professionals and weight loss programmes ask them to do.
Researchers from the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford are inviting anyone trying to lose weight through diet and/or exercise to get involved by visiting www.oxfab.org. The study is being led by DPhil student Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, launching as part of the BBC television series "What's the right diet for you", featuring department researchers Professors Paul Aveyard and Susan Jebb.
Participants who choose to take part will be able to track their weight over time and fill in the questionnaires about the different things they are doing to help them to lose weight.
As a bigger picture builds up based on the data of all those taking part, participants will be able to compare their own weight-loss strategies to others, and the researchers will see overall what works and what doesn’t work for different people.
By understanding which strategies are associated with success, the researchers hope to develop more effective guidance and advice for health professionals advising people on how to reach their weight-loss goals.
Jamie Hartmann-Boyce is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Primary Care Research (SPCR) and the NIHR Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) Oxford at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.