Obesity Management in Women: Outcomes of a Nine-Month Individualized Nutritional and Behavioral Intervention Program

Background: Obesity constitutes a major global public health challenge with increasing prevalence documented across both developed and developing nations, including Algeria. The multifactorial etiology of obesity involves dietary, environmental, biological, psychological, and socioeconomic determinants. This may explain the limited short-term efficacy of conventional weight management approaches.

Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a personalized weight loss intervention founded upon the systematic identification and progressive modification of the dietary and physical activity behaviors of obese adult women, assessed over a nine-month follow-up period.

Patients and Methods: A total of 40 obese adult women, who completed the full nine-month follow-up period, were enrolled in this prospective interventional study. Participants' dietary and physical activity habits were identified at baseline and subsequently subjected to gradual, individualized modification throughout the follow-up period. Eating behavior was evaluated through the validated Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ). Daily dietary intake was assessed via repeated structured food diaries, and physical activity patterns were evaluated through repeated physical activity diaries administered at defined intervals. Anthropometric measurements — including body weight, height, waist circumference and hip circumference — were recorded at baseline and at regular follow-up assessments.

Results: The average percentage of body weight loss at nine months was -9.14 ± 2.88%. Statistically significant reductions (p < 0.05) were observed in body weight, waist circumference, hip circumference, and BMI. Significant decreases were recorded in total energy, fat, carbohydrate, simple sugar, and sodium consumption; whilst protein and dietary fiber intake increased significantly (p < 0.05). Significant improvements were observed across all eating behavior domains assessed by the DEBQ, including emotional eating, external food responsiveness, snacking frequency, meal timing regularity, and adherence to internal hunger and satiety cues (p < 0.05). Significant positive associations were observed between improvements in eating behavior scores and reductions in anthropometric parameters. Furthermore, a significant increase in habitual physical activity levels and total daily energy expenditure was recorded over the follow-up period (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: The findings of the present study demonstrate the clinical effectiveness of an individualized nutritional and behavioral intervention in achieving significant and sustained weight loss, alongside meaningful improvements in dietary patterns, eating behavior profiles, and physical activity levels in obese adult women. These results support the potential of this approach for the multidimensional management of obesity and advocate for its broader integration into public health and clinical nutrition practice in Algeria and identical settings.

Keywords: Obesity Management; Eating Behavior; Physical Activity; Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ); Individualized Intervention; Anthropometric Measurements; Dietary Intake.