Individual, facility, and program factors affecting retention in a national weight management program.

Background: High attrition is a common problem for weight loss programs and directly affects program effectiveness. Since 2006, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has offered obesity treatment to its beneficiaries through the MOVE! Weight Management Program for Veterans (MOVE!). An early evaluation of this program showed that attrition rate was high.

Participant Retention in the Veterans Health Administration's MOVE! Weight management program, 2010.

Introduction: Participant retention is a frequent concern in structured weight-management programs. Although research has explored participant characteristics influencing retention, little attention has been given to the influence of program characteristics. The objective of this study was to examine how program characteristics relate to participant retention in the Veterans Health Administration's weight-management program, MOVE!

Methods: We conducted semistructured interviews with coordinators of 12 MOVE! programs located throughout the United States, 5 with high participant retention rates and 7 with low rates.