Weight Management Experiences Among People With CKD: A Qualitative Study

Obesity is a chronic disease which directly contributes to the onset and progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). For patients with advanced CKD (CKD G4-5D), kidney transplantation is the optimal treatment to improve morbidity and quality of life. However, obesity is a barrier to transplantation, due to an associated risk of postoperative complications and decreased graft survival.

We sought to understand patient experiences with weight management and CKD to inform future studies in this area.

Descriptive qualitative study.

London, Ontario, Canada.

Individuals with CKD G4-5D and experiences with obesity and weight management.

We interviewed 12 participants with CKD G4-5ND, using thematic analysis and a phenomenological framework. We explored their beliefs, experiences, and expectations of weight loss management. An inductive, open coding technique was used to generate themes that informed our understanding of their shared experiences.

We identified 6 themes from our data: strengths and gaps in healthcare support, influence of social circles and systems, past experiences with weight loss, limitations of current health status, knowledge and motivation around weight management, and personal autonomy in treatment choices.

Small homogenous population limits generalizability, self-report of weight loss attempts without numerical data.

Our study emphasizes opportunities for healthcare providers to identify and address potential unmet needs in weight management, while also guiding patient-centered conversations on this topic.