“I Was Having My Midlife Fat Crisis”: Exploring the Experiences and Preferences of Home-Based Exercise Programmes for Adults Living with Overweight and Obesity

Abstract

The involvement of people with lived experience in the design of exercise programmes is more likely to lead to a more needs-sensitive and population-specific intervention. There is limited evidence of the integration of people with lived experience, particularly regarding home-based exercise programmes for adults living with overweight and obesity, despite this being a population that would significantly benefit from a suitably tailored programme. Semi-structured interviews were virtually conducted to explore 20 participants’ experiences of exercising at home and their preferences for the design of future home-based exercise programmes. Codes were generated through thematic analysis, highlighting considerations such as comfort within a home-based environment, a desire for social connection, and the integration of technology. Four corresponding themes were generated, encapsulating participants’ choice reasoning for home-based exercise, difficulties of engaging in home-based exercise, undertaking and adhering to home-based exercise, and factors that constitute the perfect programme. Although the involvement of people with lived experience in research can be time-consuming, this process is fundamental to the design of an effective and efficacious programme. These findings will inform the design and development of a home-based exercise programme for adults living with overweight and obesity.