Bridging Perception and Investment: Exploring Acceptance and Willingness to Pay for Adult Weight Management in Malaysia

Despite ongoing interventions, overweight and obesity rates in Malaysia continue to escalate, underscoring the need to understand public acceptance and willingness to pay (WTP) for weight management programmes.This study aimed to identify key determinants influencing acceptance and WTP among Malaysian adults.A structured questionnaire was developed and validated in Phase 1, before being administered in a cross-sectional survey across four states: Kedah, Selangor, Johor, and Kelantan with 783 respondents.Results indicated high acceptance (80.0%) but low WTP (27.0%), with a notable preference for self-managed approaches.Discrete choice experiment (DCE) findings revealed preference toward structured interventions incorporating nutritional, physical and motivational components.Acceptance was significantly associated with education level, body mass index and gender, while WTP was influenced by education, employment status and income.Cost emerged as a pivotal factor, with respondents favouring more affordable options (p < 0.001).These insights offer strategic direction for policymakers to design culturally relevant, cost-sensitive interventions that align with behavioural readiness and public preferences.By bridging psychological acceptance with economic feasibility, the study reframes obesity intervention as an inclusive pathway for health empowerment, advocating for equitable resource allocation and sustainable outcomes across socio-economic groups.