Abstracts / Posters
The efficacy of a nurse administered weight management programme in the UK
Accepted for oral presentation at the "IV International Nutrition and Dietetics Congress” 2003 Antalya
The Counterweight Project Team
Objective: To examine the efficacy of a nurse administered weight management programme in primary care.
Methods: 80 primary care practices from 7 areas of the UK were recruited into the Counterweight Programme. Specialist obesity dietitians provided training, clinical support & evidence based structured protocols to nurses. Patients attended 6 individual appointments (10-20 minutes) or 6 group sessions (1 hour) with a nurse over 3 months, and then attended quarterly for follow up review. Data are reported from the first 30 practices.
Results: 682 patients (mean BMI=37.0kg/m2) have been recruited through the rolling programme. Mean age at baseline was 50.8 years (SD=14.1) and 75.1% of patients were female. 316 have now completed 3 months and 199 6 months. At baseline 48% had at least one obesity-related co-morbidity (15% diabetes, 15% hyperlipidaemia, 32% hypertension, 10% other cardiac co-morbidities). Mean weight change at 3 months (n=316) was -3.3kg (SE=0.19), range –22.0kg to +6.4kg, while at 6 months (n=199) it was -4.3 kg (SE=0.36), range –20.5kg to +6.0kg. At 6 months 42.8% of patients had lost >= 5% of initial weight (n=85) and 12.6% lost >=10% weight (n=35). There was no difference in weight loss according to presence of co-morbidity, gender, age, smoking status, baseline physical activity level or alcohol consumption. Higher BMI was associated with greater weight reduction (p<0.01), and weight change at 3 months was predictive of weight change at 6 months (p<0.0001).
Conclusion: Training and a structured approach to weight management within existing primary care resources is effective.