Client Insights from BENGALI-SPEAKING Weight Management Group

An 8-week weight management programme was created specifically for Bengali-speaking women, working with community stakeholders and using interpreter support. Participants reported improvements in diet, physical activity, and sleep, though further research is needed to assess long-term outcomes.

Client Insights from BENGALI-SPEAKING Weight Management Group

Dr AB Sirin-Ayva, Matt Buckley, James Roast, Dr Sophie Edwards, Prof Paul Gately

Introduction

Individuals from different cultural backgrounds are at higher risk of developing public health problems. Obesity is one of them, and weight management services usually have a reduced BMI eligibility criterion for these individuals.

Morelife UK is a nationwide weight management provider in the UK and provides services to people from different backgrounds. Previous studies show that group-based approaches effectively reduce weight, and weight loss is correlated with the number of sessions attended. Morelife inclusion criteria include BMI ≥ 30kg/m² without co-morbidities (adjusted to 27.5kg/m² for Black African, African-Caribbean and Asian ethnic groups). The Morelife programme offers yearlong support with weekly and monthly sessions to cover nutrition, dietetics, psychological and physical activity content.

Methods

Morelife worked with existing clients with the same background and stakeholders to create a culture-specific programme and curriculum for the Bangladeshi community. We completed three in-depth interviews with the current clients from the Bangladeshi community. We worked collaboratively with a local organisation to create a specific programme to meet their specific needs and facilitate weight management. Based on this initial work, we created an 8-week programme for a women-only small pilot group with an interpreter. The programme’s content is created by our clinicians with the help of people with lived experience and local Bangladeshi organisations.

We conducted a focus group with the participants at the same venue.

Insights

Main Healthy Lifestyle Changes

  • Physical activity – Active travel
  • Using a step tracker
  • Sleep improvements
  • Understanding the importance of sleep
  • Buying more fruits and vegetables
  • Utilising the traffic light system
  • Limiting rice and fried food
  • Portion control – Less fried food
  • They are tracking their progress by weight, clothing size, energy levels, face shape, cravings, etc. They have found different ways to measure their health and well-being

Suggestions from the Group

  • Support for medical conditions
  • Support around Ramadan
  • Exercise Sessions
  • Mental Health specific content
  • Mindfulness exercises
  • Cultural content – Body shaming
  • Serving healthy food to guests
  • Having a female practitioner to discuss things like menopause – A men only group for Bengali speaking community

Benefits of the Programme

  • Group support and encouragement
  • Sense of community
  • Improved mental wellbeing
  • Sense of achievement through realistic goals and practitioner support
  • Improved knowledge around diet, nutrition and physical activity

What did they like the most about the Programme

  • Having a practitioner who is Muslim, they felt understood
  • Small adaptations for their community, such as portion control for rice.
  • Learning from other people, sharing ideas in a group
  • Setting up group challenges, such as physical activity, walking
  • Monitoring their portions and weight through clothes, face shape, etc.

Conclusion

Participants of this pilot group find it helpful with changing their dietary and physical activity habits and their sleep quality. Further data is required to analyse long term effects of this programme.

References:

  1. Raleigh, V. (2023).The health of people from ethnic minority groups in England. Retrieved from Individuals from different cultural backgrounds are at higher risk of developing public health problems . Obesity is one of them, and weight management services usually have a reduced BMI eligibility criterion for these individuals. Morelife UK is a nationwide weight management provider in the UK and provides services to people from different backgrounds. Previous studies show that group-based approaches effectively reduce weight, and weight loss is correlated with the number of sessions attended 2, 3, 4. Morelife inclusion criteria include BMI ≥ 30kg/m² without co-morbidities (adjusted to 27.5kg/m² for Black African, African-Caribbean and Asian ethnic groups). The Morelife programme offers yearlong support with weekly and monthly sessions to cover nutrition, dietetic, psychological and physical activity contents. on 10/01/2025

     

  2. Pendlebury, J., Haddad, P., & Dursun, S. (2005). Evaluation of a behavioural weight management programme for patients with severe mental illness: 3-year results. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical & Experimental. 20 (6), 447-778

     

  3. Damuit, G. L. et all. (2013). A Behavioural Weight- Loss Intervention in Persons with Serious Mental Illness. The New England Journal of Medicine. 368:1594-1602 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1214530

     

  4. Lee, C., Piernas, C., Stewart, C., Michalopoulou, M., Hajzadeh, R. E., Aveyard, P. & Waite, F. (2021). Identifying effective characteristics of behavioural weight management interventions for people with serious mental illness: A systematic review with a qualitative comparative analysis. Obesity Reviews, 23 (1), e13355.