Physical activity & sedentary behaviour in adults living with obesity

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  A mixed-methods study of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in adults living with obesity awaiting elective bariatric surgery

• IRAS ID

  346167

• Contact name

  Emily White

• Contact email

  emily.white@chi.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Chichester

• Duration of Study in the UK

  1 years, 0 months, 0 days

• Research summary

  Obesity is a major worldwide health problem with prevalence steadily increasing in the UK. In 2019, an estimated 12.6 million individuals were identified as obese (classified using body mass index (BMI)). The continuous rise means a growing number of individuals will be at increased risk of obesity related co-morbidities such as cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes, alongside a greater risk of mortality.

  Physical activity (PA) is key for maintaining good physical fitness. It is recommended adults participate in at least 150-miutes of moderate intensity or 75-minutes of vigorous intensity PA a week. Meeting the PA guidelines can help individuals maintain a healthy BMI, as well as lowering the risk of the associated co-morbidities stated above.

  It is common for individuals living with obesity to have reduced physical fitness levels. Low levels of physical fitness have been identified as a risk factor for patients undergoing surgery requiring anaesthesia. Living with obesity also increases the risk of operative complications due to related co-morbidities. These factors lead to greater risk of postoperative complications. This is highly applicable to those requiring bariatric surgery due to patients presenting with high BMI’s.

  Risk factors may be reduced through the implementation of PA pre-conditioning. Pre-conditioning can help optimise a patient's health prior to surgery. PA pre-conditioning can be used to target physical fitness, enhancing pre-operative functional capacity.

  To develop a pre-conditioning programme, we need to know what levels of PA service users are currently participating in and what their barriers might be, so a targeted pre-conditioning programme can be developed.

  Aims:
  Assess PA and sedentary behaviour levels in adults living with obesity awaiting elective bariatric surgery.
  Assess the capability, opportunity and motivation for participating in PA in adults living with obesity awaiting elective bariatric surgery.

  Outcomes:
  Identify time spent in sedentary, low, moderate or vigorous activity (total minutes)
  Identify domains of PA and sedentary time participated in
  Identify barriers experienced for participating in PA

• REC name

  London - London Bridge Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  25/PR/0064

• Date of REC Opinion

  19 Mar 2025

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion