Interview schedule

The interview schedule was compiled via a review of interview schedules used in previous studies addressing the obesity epidemic [22–24]. To elicit the interviewees’ perceptions and insights about obesity in Libyan adults, the interview schedule incorporated both open-ended questions and probes, which were tested and developed in a series of pilot interviews prior to the main fieldwork. The interview schedule covered the following topics: knowledge about obesity; influence of age and gender and race on obesity, socio-economic status (SES), unhealthy eating habits, physical activity and sedentary behaviours, neighbourhood environment issues; influences of culture and religion on obesity; the major challenges facing Libyan health care systems obesity prevention and control strategies.