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Home » Long Term Weight Loss » Program helps at-risk adults keep the weight off

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Obese people who went through a weight-management program based at community health centers lost and kept off a couple more pounds than those who didn't do the program, in a new study.

They were also more likely to have their blood pressure under control up to two years out, researchers reported this week.

The participants were largely minorities and poor -- representing the Americans most affected by obesity and obesity-related health conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease, and some of the hardest to reach with prevention efforts.

In part because of those demographics, the new report is "encouraging," said Sara Bleich, an obesity researcher from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore who wasn't involved in the new study.

"Typically what happens (in weight-management programs) is there's a lot of initial weight loss, and people gain it back pretty quickly," she told Reuters Health.

"A real positive to (this study) is the fact that we are seeing sustained weight loss, even though it is modest. That sort of sustained weight loss has the potential to reverse or alleviate a whole host of health problems."

The trial was conducted at three Boston community health centers. Close to 400 adults who were obese and being treated for high blood pressure were randomly assigned to get their usual care -- including a healthy weight booklet -- or to go through a goal-setting weight management program.

In the program, participants set small objectives for behavior changes, such as limiting TV watching, walking a certain amount each day and not drinking sugar-sweetened beverages. They received regular calls from community health educators over the two-year study to discuss their goals and progress, and were able to get feedback on a website or through "robocalls."

People in the weight management group also saw their primary care doctors once to discuss weight-related behavior changes and were invited to optional monthly group support sessions at the community health center.

More than 80 percent of the participants were black or Hispanic and the majority didn't have more than a high school degree or household income above $25,000. They were in their mid-fifties, on average, and started the study with an average weight of 220 pounds.

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Program helps at-risk adults keep the weight off

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Home » Long Term Weight Loss » Program helps at-risk adults keep the weight off