Supplementary Material for: Characteristics of individuals living with obesity in Germany, weight loss methods attempted, and response over a 12-month period: results from a cross-sectional survey

Introduction: This study aimed to describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of individu-als with obesity (IWO) in Germany and to explore weight loss methods and their effectiveness. Methods: Data were drawn from a cross-sectional survey of adults with obesity (≥18 years of age) conducted in Germany between November – December 2022 through an online consumer panel. Data were captured using a self-administered questionnaire, and included demographic and clini-cal characteristics, weight loss methods attempted in the last 12 months, and how successful these attempts were. Logistic regression analysis assessed the effect of variables including age, sex and weight loss method on the odds of weight reduction. Data were presented as odds ratios, p-values and confidence intervals. For descriptive statistics, continuous variables were presented as means and standard deviations (SDs). Categorical variables were presented as frequency counts and per-centages. Results: Overall, the 1000 IWO in this study had a mean age (SD) of 42.8 (10.7) years, 94% were White, 45% were female, and mean (SD) body mass index was 37.6 (8.3) kg/m2. In total, 73% had ≥1 comorbid conditions, the most common being musculoskeletal pain (19%). Just 43% were being managed for a weight condition, however, 95% had attempted to lose weight over the previous 12 months, with 33% utilizing an anti-obesity medication and 26% utilizing a calorie-controlled diet. IWO on a calorie-controlled diet or a digital health application were more likely to lose weight than people using other methods (p<0.05). Conclusion: Our results highlight gaps in obesity recognition and management in Germany, under-scoring the importance of enhancing access to effective interventions and improving support sys-tems for this population.