Weight Navigation Program Boosts Use of Weight Management Treatments

FRIDAY, May 31, 2024 (HealthDay News) — A primary care-based weight navigation program (WNP) is feasible and associated with greater use of weight management treatments (WMT) and weight loss, according to a study published online May 21 in JAMA Network Open.

Dina H. Griauzde, M.D., from the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, and colleagues examined the association of a primary care-based WNP with WMT use and weight loss in a cohort study. Participants were adults with obesity and one or more weight-related condition; data were included for 264 patients (132 WNP patients and 132 matched controls).

The researchers found that in a difference-in-differences analysis, WNP patients lost 4.9 kg more than matched controls, had 4.4 percent greater weight loss, and were more likely to achieve 5 percent or more and 10 percent or more weight loss (odds ratios, 2.90 and 7.19, respectively). Patients in the WNP group were referred to WMTs at higher rates, including bariatric surgery (18.9 versus 9.1 percent), a low-calorie meal replacement program (16.7 versus 3.8 percent), and a Mediterranean-style diet and activity program (10.6 versus 1.5 percent). No differences were seen between the groups in antiobesity medication prescribing.

“The WNP is a promising model to improve obesity treatment in primary care settings and warrants rigorous evaluation in a large-scale randomized clinical trial with longer-term assessment of outcomes and determinants of implementation,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to industry.

Abstract/Full Text