Study: GP referral to a weight loss programme is effective

The UK study involved a randomised trial of 1 800 people and was published in The Lancet on 24 October 2016.

Doctors rarely talk to patients about weight

The findings should provide reassurance to doctors who rarely talk to patients about their weight for fear of causing offence, lack of time, or belief that such interventions are ineffective. The authors say the low cost intervention should be considered as the first point of call for GPs in treating obesity.

The trial, led by the University of Oxford (UK), included 137 GPs in England and 1 882 people attending a consultation unrelated to weight loss. Half the people were offered a referral – which took just 30 seconds – to a weight management programme, while the other half were told that losing weight would benefit their health but were not offered a referral.

Participants in the trial were weighed again at three months and then again after 12 months.

People in referral group lost on average 2,43kg

The average weight at the start of the trial was approximately 105kg for men, and 93kg for women. People in the referral group lost on average of 2,43kg compared to 1,04kg in the control group). Furthermore, a quarter of participants in the referral group had lost at least 5% of their body weight after a year, and 12% had lost at least 10% - double the rate of the control group.

GPs involved in the trial took part in a 90-minute training programme to provide them with the skills and confidence to deliver the intervention as well as handle difficult questions.

Doctors concerned about offending patients

“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,” says Professor Paul Aveyard, lead author, University of Oxford who is also a practising GP.

Optimistic news for obesity management

Writing in a linked Comment, Professors Boyd Swinburn and Bruce Arroll, School of Population Health, University of Auckland, New Zealand say the findings “provide optimistic news for the management of obesity in primary care”. They add that “the positive results ... signal a need for further such studies so that the evidence base for brief interventions for weight management matches that for quitting smoking, exercise prescriptions, and alcohol problems”.

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