Putting the National Diabetes Prevention Program to Work: Predictors of Achieving Weight-Loss Goals in an Employee Population

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This graph plots values along a y-axis (percentage weight change) and an x-axis (number of sessions, from 1 through 26). For each session and each participant in the program, the graph indicates a percentage change in weight. It shows that participants who met the target weight-loss goal crossed the 5% weight-loss threshold at approximately session 9. It also shows that among those who did not achieve the 5% weight-loss goal, participants lost a percentage of body weight slowly but steadily until about session 16, at which point the they began to gain a percentage of body weight slowly and steadily until session 26. Among those who achieved 5% weight loss, the percentage of body weight declined at a faster rate than the rate among those who did not achieve goal, and it continued to decline steadily until session 26.

Figure 1.
Percentage change in weight among 165 participants in the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) Faculty and Staff Health and Wellness Diabetes Prevention Program, 2014–2017. The dotted line represents the 5% weight-loss goal. Each green cross represents a participant who achieved the 5% weight-loss goal. Each red circle represents a participant who did not achieve the 5% weight-loss goal. The solid red line and the solid green line are LOWESS (locally weighted scatterplot smoothing) nonparametric regression trend lines; shading indicates 95% confidence intervals.

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Participants who reported an average of at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week or attended at least 21 sessions during the program had a 50% success rate in achieving the 5% weight loss goal. The steep slope of the line indicates that increasing the physical activity to more than 150 minutes is associated with significantly higher success rates. Similarly, attending 21 sessions is associated with a 50% success rate, but the slope of the line indicates that increasing attendance to more than 21 sessions is associated with much higher success rates.

Figure 2.
Success rates for achievement of 5% weight-loss goal among 165 participants in the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) Faculty and Staff Health and Wellness Diabetes Prevention Program, 2014–2017. The red dotted line (A) indicates 150 minutes of physical activity and the blue dotted line (B) indicates 21 sessions. The points at which the red and blue dotted lines intersect with the solid green line indicate 50% success rates.

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