Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

Obesity, defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or above, is a critical international health care issue with the rates of obesity and morbid obesity increasing worldwide. Morbid obesity (BMI of 40 kg/m2 or above) is associated with an increased risk of multiple serious medical conditions including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, respiratory disease (e.g., asthma) and certain types of cancer. Bariatric surgery is the gold standard of treatment for morbid obesity. While bariatric surgery is associated with important reductions in body weight, weight-related health conditions, and mortality, a significant proportion of bariatric patients experience suboptimal post-surgical outcomes, including consistent and rapid weight regain, even in the short-term (e.g., within 6 months after the surgery). There are a variety of interventions which have been used to try and enhance the effects of bariatric surgery on longer-term weight maintenance through changes in lifestyle behaviours (i.e., physical activity, sedentarity, diet). However, many of these have been poorly developed and not well tested. This has resulted in varied rates of success with little knowledge of how to improve the overall intervention package (combination of intervention components or strategies included in the intervention). The ultimate goal of this project is to develop an appropriate trial protocol to assess the efficacy of different behavioural weight management strategies to improve long-term weight maintenance after bariatric surgery (identify the best combination(s) of intervention components and strategies for certain bariatric patients). Central to achieving this objective is working with key stakeholders (patients, health care professionals, health administrators/policy makers, and researchers) to identify the most pertinent behavioural weight management intervention strategies that should be used before and/or after bariatric surgery to enhance outcomes.