Offering weight-loss programmes to overweight patients during routine consultations is a quick and effective method to tackle obesity, according to a new report out today.
A trial led by researchers at the University of Oxford, UK, found that after a year, those who took up their GP’s offer of a free 12-week weight management programme lost double the rate of weight compared to those who undertook their own weight-management regime.
The findings, published in the The Lancet, should reassure GPs who are sometimes reluctant to discuss patients’ weight in case they offend them. It should also encourage medics who claim they do not have the time to do it because the intervention took only 30 seconds.
The trial involved 137 GP surgeries in the south of England and 1,882 patients who attended a consultation that was not related to weight loss.
At the end of the consultation, patients were randomly selected to receive one of two 30-second interventions. Of the whole cohort, 940 people were offered a 12-week weight management programme – Rosemary Conley Fitness Club or Slimming World – available for free on the NHS.
If the patient accepted, the GP ensured the first appointment was made for the patient and offered follow up.
The control group of 942 patients were advised by their GP to lose weight for the benefit of their health, were weighed at the first consultation and after three months, asked if they had taken any action to manage their weight. They were weighed again at 12 months.
A total of 77% (722) who were offered the weight loss programme agreed to take part and of those, 40% (379) attended.
People in the referral group had an average 2.43kg weight loss compared to 1.04kg in the control group and after 12 months, a quarter of participants in the referral group had lost at least 5% of their body weight, while 12% had lost at least 10%. This was double the rate of the control group.
Most participants (81%, of the 1882) across both groups said the intervention was appropriate and helpful.
Professor Paul Aveyard, lead author and also a practising GP, said: “Doctors can be concerned about offending their patients by discussing their weight, but evidence from this trial shows that they should be much less worried.
“Our study found that a brief, 30 second conversation, followed by help booking the first appointment onto a community weight loss programme, leads to weight loss and is welcomed by patients.”
GPs involved in the trial took part in a 90-minute training programme to give them the skills and confidence to deliver the intervention and to handle difficult questions.
The authors say that the 30 seconds of GPs’ time to deliver the intervention cost approximately £1.45 and the 12-week weight-loss programme cost about £50. Admin staff at the surgeries could book the patient’s place on the programme, which took about two minutes at a cost of about 76p.
Aveyard P, Lewis A, Tearne S et al. Screening and brief intervention for obesity in primary care: a parallel, two-arm, randomised trial. The Lancet. October 24, 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S0140-6736(16)31893-1 [abstract]
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