Table 3 Perceived advantages and disadvantages of using complementary therapies for weight management
| Â | Description | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
Perceived advantages of CM use (n = 183) | |||
| Â | Improves general wellbeing | 139 | 75.96% |
| Â | Reduces stress/is relaxing | 105 | 57.38% |
| Â | Not needing to use drugs/medication | 101 | 55.19% |
| Â | Can treat other symptoms at the same time | 64 | 34.97% |
| Â | Holistic approach | 57 | 31.15% |
| Â | Non-surgical/not needing to have an operation | 56 | 30.60% |
| Â | Agree with the philosophy behind the therapy | 37 | 20.22% |
| Â | Already using it | 18 | 9.84% |
Perceived disadvantages of CM use (n = 214) | |||
| Â | Financial cost | 128 | 59.81% |
| Â | Lack of research to show it is effective | 124 | 57.94% |
| Â | Finding a reliable practitioner | 99 | 46.26% |
| Â | Interactions with medications | 58 | 27.10% |
| Â | Cannot find reliable information | 53 | 24.77% |
| Â | Time commitment | 37 | 17.29% |
| Â | Side effects of treatment | 14 | 6.54% |
| Â | My GP/specialist does not support its use | 13 | 6.07% |
|  | Don’t work/don’t trust | 3 | 1.40% |
| Â | Unsure | 2 | 0.93% |
| Â | Motivation to continue | 1 | 0.47% |
| Â | Too many treatments already | 1 | 0.47% |
| Â | Goes against my beliefs | 1 | 0.47% |