Contributing Factors of Treatment Drop-Out in Overweight or Obese Patients in Ahvaz

Background:

Drop-out (discontinuing treatment after the first visit) is one of the main causes of failure in obesity treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the pattern of drop-out in overweight or obese outpatients in Ahvaz, Iran.

Material and methods:

A total of 575 overweight or obese individuals (female: 469, male: 106) aged 18 65 attending an outpatient dietician office for the obesity treatment were investigated. Variables such as age, gender, marital status, Body Mass Index (BMI), educational level, job, self body image, and some eating behaviors were evaluated. Relationships between these factors and drop-out rate were tested by chi-square and logistic regression tests.

Results:

Drop-out rate was 56.3% (79.3% in females and 20.7% in males). The non continuer patients had less negative image about their body weight (P=0.006) as considered themselves in normal weight range. Drop-out rate in employed participants were higher and most of continuers were jobless or housewives (P=0.022). The results showed that from point of view of body fat percentage there was a statistically significant difference between two groups (P=0.007).The self body image was the only significant predicting variable of drop out in multiple logistic regression test.