A two-year clinical lifestyle intervention program for weight loss in obesity

Background:In recent randomised prospective studies, lifestyle intervention induced a weight loss of approximately 5%.Objective:To describe and evaluate a 2-year on-going group intervention program in clinical practice in terms of weight loss and changes in metabolic risk factors, i.e. sagital abdominal diameter (SAD), triglycerides, fasting blood glucose and blood pressure.Design:The aim of the intervention program was to motivate lifestyle changes concerning food intake and physical activity. The emphasis was on lifestyle modification, followed up at regular visits during 2 years. Subjects evaluated were 100 women with mean BMI 37.6 kg/m2and 26 men with mean BMI 36.5 kg/m2.Results:One hundred of 151 enrolled women and 26 of 36 men completed the program. Mean weight decreased by 3.8 kg in women (from 103.5 to 99.7, p<0.001) and 4.4 kg in men (from 116.5 to 112.1, p<0.05), respectively. SAD decreased by 5% (p=0.001 in women, p=0.01 in men), and triglycerides by 16% in women (p=0.01) and 24% in men (p=0.001), however systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased slightly but significantly.Conclusion:It is possible to perform a clinical lifestyle intervention program for outpatients on an ongoing basis with weight loss, lowered SAD and triglycerides, and a similar or lower dropout rate compared to clinical trials.