Weight Watchers wins out
September 8, 2011
A NEW international study
published in The Lancet today has
contrasted Weight Watchers with
weight loss plans managed by local
doctors and nurses, finding that
participants in the commercial
program lost significantly more
than those receiving standard care.
772 overweight and obese adults
were tracked in Australia, the UK
and Germany, with the local arm of
the research led by Professor Ian
Caterson from Sydney University.
The Weight Watchers members
lost 5.06kg on average over the
trial period, compared to 2.25kg for
those managed by doctors.
Caterson said it was the first
multi-country, randomised,
comparative study to show the
effectiveness of commercial weight
loss programs.
The Weight Watchers were three
times more likely to lose 5% of their
body weight, and also showed
significantly greater improvements
in insulin and cholesterol levels.
The patients cared for by doctors
had one appointment per month -
half to a third of the meetings
attended in Weight Watchers.
Participants in the trial were
recruited via primary health carers,
and of 377 assigned to the
commercial program, 230 (61%)
completing 12 months.
395 were assigned to standard
doctor care, with 214 (54%) lasting
the full year in the program.
Caterson suggested that the
greater level of contact, more
frequent weigh-ins, peer support
and access to resources such as
recipes for those in the Weight
Watchers program could have been
significant factors in the outcome.
He said further research would
see follow-up assessments at 18
and 24 months, as well as a
comparison of the relative cost
effectiveness of the approaches.
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