Unsuccessful dieters should be encouraged to keep weight steady
to improve health - BJGP study
25.01.08
Primary care staff should promote the merits of weight constancy
rather than weight loss to improve the health of obese patients,
according to a discussion paper in this month’s British Journal of
General Practice (BJGP).
The paper Obesity in primary care:
evidence for advising weight constancy rather than weight loss in
unsuccessful dieters looked at previous studies of obesity
weight-loss programmes and current guidance from the National
Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
The authors cited evidence that
over-ambitious weight-loss targets have poor long-term outcomes and
concluded that promoting weight constancy would have a beneficial
effect on preventing further growth of obesity-related
morbidity.
Weight constancy advocates focusing
on regular, simple exercise with the aim of avoiding further weight
increase. Although there is little short-term benefit in terms of
weight loss, this approach has been shown to have clear health
benefits and helps to prevent current levels of obesity from
escalating.
Report author, Dr Rachel Pryke,
said: “Weight constancy promotes the idea that regular exercise,
and not worrying about the weight you lose, will ultimately help
people to be healthier and in many cases will ultimately reduce the
weight of those suffering from obesity.
“NICE currently advises a target of
five to ten per cent weight-loss in the treatment of obesity but
does not clarify how to help those people who lose small amounts of
weight but fail to achieve the five per cent reduction required to
ensure they can continue their treatment.
“A common scenario is a patient who
initially loses thee kilograms in a weight management clinic but
then plateaus and regains a little weight. Under the guidance they
are regarded as untreatable and will probably have their obesity
medication withdrawn which confirms their sense of failure and
drains their motivation for self help.”
For more information please contact the RCGP Press Office on 020
7344 3137/3136/3135/3129 / press@rcgp.org.uk
Notes to editors
• The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) is the
largest membership organisation in the United Kingdom solely for
GPs. It aims to encourage and maintain the highest standards of
general medical practice and to act as the “voice” of GPs on issues
concerned with education, training, research, and clinical
standards. Founded in 1952, the RCGP has over 33,000 members who
are committed to improving patient care, developing their own
skills and promoting general practice as a discipline.