HealthyWE: Achieving a Healthy Weight and Reducing Pain

The goal of this project was to reduce and manage obesity and increase self-efficacy for keeping a healthy weight and improve pain, quality of life, and mental health symptoms among 60 adults aged 19 and older in Camden City, New Jersey. The City of Camden has an adult obesity rate of 44.1%. Obesity and aging are significant contributing factors to increased utilizations of healthcare services. Obesity is a major risk factor for non-communicable illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, pain, and mental health. Physical activity is effective in reducing and managing obesity. However, personal barriers (e.g., lack of time for physical activity, physical capability to perform physical activities, competing demands), built environment (e.g., safe spaces for physical activities), climate changes (e.g., heat waves and extreme weather which prevent outdoor physical activities), and systematic barriers (e.g., intervention availability) hamper obesity prevention and management in older adult population. To help older adults keep a healthy weight, our team has adapted and delivered the effective person-centered integrative interventions: HealthyWE: Keeping a Healthy Weight program to older adults in Camden New Jersey. Completion of the project will build a strong community capacity in Camden to sustain a community effort to reduce obesity and pain.