A Qualitative Study on Young Men's Experiences of Intentional Weight-Gain.

This qualitative study investigated how young men perceive their body image and experiences of purposively gaining weight, and what these reveal about broader sociocultural meanings around food, consumption and male body image. The participants in this study were a subsample of men participating in the 'GlasVEGAS' study which examined the effect of weight-gain and weight loss on metabolism, fitness and disease risk in young adult men. Twenty-three qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirteen men (mean age 23 years) at GlasVEGAS baseline ( = 10) and weight-gain (6-week) follow-up assessment ( = 13).

The association between gambling marketing and unplanned gambling spend: Synthesised findings from two online cross-sectional surveys.

Background: In 2020, the British Government initiated a review about whether to introduce stricter controls on gambling marketing. We examine: (i) what proportion of regular sports bettors and emergent adult gamblers report that marketing has prompted unplanned spend; and (ii) what factors are associated with reporting that marketing had prompted unplanned spend.

Methods: Data are from two British non-probability online surveys with: (i) emerging adults (16-24 years; n = 3,549; July/August 2019) and (ii) regular sports bettors (18+; n = 3,195; November 2020).

The Aussie-FIT process evaluation: feasibility and acceptability of a weight loss intervention for men, delivered in Australian Football League settings.

Objective: This process evaluation aimed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of Aussie-FIT, a group-based weight loss intervention for men with overweight and obesity in Australia.

Design: Process data and data collected from: (1) six-participant focus groups (= 24), (2) coach interviews ( = 4), (3) audio recordings of Aussie-FIT sessions and (4) post-program participant surveys (= 93) were analysed.

Main Outcome Measures: We explored the feasibility and acceptability of program setting and context, recruitment strategies, factors impacting implementation and mechanisms of impact.

The impact of the initial Covid-19 lockdown upon regular sports bettors in Britain: Findings from a cross-sectional online study.

Background: In Britain, unprecedented restrictions on daily life associated with the Covid-19 pandemic included the suspension of professional sports events during the initial 'lockdown'. This provides opportunities to observe changes in sports bettors' behaviour when their primary form of activity is removed and assess the impact of Covid-19 related circumstances upon gambling.

Methods: In July 2020, we conducted an online cross-sectional survey of people who bet regularly (at least monthly) on sports before Covid-19 (n = 3866).

Protocol for a Mixed-Method Investigation of the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Gambling Practices, Experiences and Marketing in the UK: The "Betting and Gaming COVID-19 Impact Study".

The COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented restrictions on people's movements and interactions, as well as the cancellation of major sports events and social activities, directly altering the gambling landscape. There is urgent need to provide regulators, policy makers and treatment providers with evidence on the patterns and context of gambling during COVID-19 and its aftermath. This protocol describes a study addressing the following three questions: (1) How has COVID-19 changed gambling practices and the risk factors for, and experience of, gambling harms? (2) What is the effect of COVID-19 on gambling marketing? (3) How has COVID-19 changed high risk groups' gambling experiences and practices? This mixed-method study focuses on two groups, namely young adults and sports bettors.

Responsiveness of Device-Based and Self-Report Measures of Physical Activity to Detect Behavior Change in Men Taking Part in the Football Fans in Training (FFIT) Program.

The capacity of physical activity (PA) measures to detect in PA within interventions is crucial. This is the first study to examine the responsiveness of PAL3™ and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ; Short Form) in detecting PA change during a 12-week group-based, men-only weight management program-Football Fans in Training (FFIT). Participants wore an PAL3™ and completed the IPAQ pre- and post-program ( = 30).

Scale-Up and Scale-Out of a Gender-Sensitized Weight Management and Healthy Living Program Delivered to Overweight Men via Professional Sports Clubs: The Wider Implementation of Football Fans in Training (FFIT).

Increasing prevalence of obesity poses challenges for public health. Men have been under-served by weight management programs, highlighting a need for gender-sensitized programs that can be embedded into routine practice or adapted for new settings/populations, to accelerate the process of implementing programs that are successful and cost-effective under research conditions. To address gaps in examples of how to bridge the research to practice gap, we describe the scale-up and scale-out of Football Fans in Training (FFIT), a weight management and healthy living program in relation to two implementation frameworks.

Can professional football clubs deliver a weight management programme for women: a feasibility study.

Background: Levels of obesity remain high in the UK. The Football Fans in Training (FFIT) randomised controlled trial (RCT) demonstrated that a 12-week, gender-sensitised weight management, physical activity and healthy eating group programme delivered through professional football clubs helped men aged 35-65 years with BMI at least 28 kg/m lose a clinically-significant amount of weight. We aimed to test the feasibility of a minimally-adapted FFIT programme for delivery to women by assessing recruitment and completion rates; determining if the programme content and delivery required further refinement; and evaluating the potential of FFIT for Women to deliver improvements in weight and other clinical, behavioural and psychological outcomes.

Long-term weight loss trajectories following participation in a randomised controlled trial of a weight management programme for men delivered through professional football clubs: a longitudinal cohort study and economic evaluation.

Background: Obesity is a major public health concern requiring innovative interventions that support people to lose weight and keep it off long term. However, weight loss maintenance remains a challenge and is under-researched, particularly in men. The Football Fans in Training (FFIT) programme engages men in weight management through their interest in football, and encourages them to incorporate small, incremental physical activity and dietary changes into daily life to support long-term weight loss maintenance.

Men's reactions to receiving objective feedback on their weight, BMI and other health risk indicators.

Background: Receiving information about one's weight, Body Mass Index (BMI) and other indicators of health risk may prompt behaviour change. This study investigated men's reactions to receiving information on indicators of health risk prior to taking part in a men-only weight management programme, Football Fans in Training (FFIT). It also investigated the extent to which the information was reported as influencing lifestyle change and having adverse consequences.

'It's like a personal motivator that you carried around wi' you': utilising self-determination theory to understand men's experiences of using pedometers to increase physical activity in a weight management programme.

Background: Self-monitoring using pedometers is an effective behaviour change technique to support increased physical activity (PA). However, the ways in which pedometers operate as motivational tools in adoption and maintenance of PA is not well understood. This paper investigates men's experiences of pedometers as motivational tools both during and after their participation in a 12-week group-based, weight management programme for overweight/obese men, Football Fans in Training (FFIT).