Healthy Lifestyle Program effective for weight loss

Nashville – An adaptable office-based lifestyle and diet intervention helped patients effectively lose weight, according to a poster presented at the American Association of Nurse Practitioners 2014 meeting.

Kenneth Fujioka, MD, of Scripps Clinic Del Mar in San Diego, and fellow colleagues, assessed the Healthy Lifestyle Program in three placebo-controlled, phase 3 trials (BLOOM, BLOSSOM, and BLOOM-DM), as part of a series of studies to assess lorcaserin for patients with type 2 diabetes.

The Healthy Lifestyle Program was a 52-week regimen that included 15 minutes of one-on-one diet and exercise counseling. Prior to the start of each trial, counselors received four hours of training on topics including action planning, roles and responsibilities, and intervention. Elements of the 5 A’s (Ask, Assess, Advise, Agree, and Assist), recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force, were incorporated into the intervention.

Each day, patients were encouraged to exercise for at least 30 minutes, and reduce their energy requirements by 600 kilocalories. They were given a pedometer and educational materials, and were told to log their overall diet and activity intermittently throughout the program.

In total, patients received 16 counseling sessions. At each visit, counselors and patients reviewed their food and activity logs.

By the end of the program, 34% of patients with type 2 diabetes, and 38% of patients without diabetes achieved weight loss of up to 5% and met the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services goal of 3 kilogram for significant weight loss.

“The Healthy Living Program may be used alone or in conjunction with pharmacotherapy […],” the authors concluded. “This-office based, patient-centric program provides an adaptable model that may be used by practitioners who treat overweight and obese individuals.”