A widely available commercial weightmanagement program led to greater reductions in weight than an unstructured, DIY approach, according to new recently published data. EndoTwitter MedTwitter
In a randomized clinical trial that included almost 400 adults from Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, participants who were assigned to WW, formerly known as Weight Watchers, lost twice as much weight as those trying to lose weight on their own. The WW group also had a greater reduction in weight circumference and was more likely to achieve a 5% weight loss.
The study participants had BMIs that ranged from 25-45 . About 38% of participants were aged 53-75 years, 22% were aged 44-52 years, 20% were 35-43, and 21% were 18-34. About 28% were from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. Notably, the WW program now includes simplified requirements for dietary self-monitoring, meaning that more than 200 foods don't need to be tracked by being weighed and measured. Instead, the program automatically assigns point values for certain foods and aims for a partial recording of food intake, which is designed to reduce the burden of self-monitoring.
At 3 months, participants in the commercial program had an average weight loss of 3.8 kg , compared with 1.8 kg in the DIY group. Lutes and colleagues are now analyzing additional results from the trial, including the uptake of treatment and any differences between people or groups based on the format, modality, and treatment elements. Lutes is also interested in understanding the interplay between mental and physical health., anxiety, or another serious mental health condition because they were determined to likely not do as well in treatment. We did not do that in this study," she said.