The My Choice Weight Management Programme
1
A COMPARISON OF THE PROVISION OF THE MY CHOICE WEIGHT MANAGEMENT
PROGRAMME VIA GENERAL PRACTITIONER PRACTICES AND COMMUNITY
PHARMACIES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
Running title: The My Choice Weight Management Programme
Dr Joseph Bush, PhD, Aston Pharmacy School, Aston University
Professor Chris Langley, PhD, Aston Pharmacy School, Aston University
Sarah Mills, MSc, Arden, Herefordshire and Worcestershire Area Team, NHS England
Linda Hindle, MSc, Birmingham Public Health, Birmingham City Council
Keywords: community-based, general practitioners, lifestyle modification, pharmacy,
socioeconomic deprivation, weight management.
Dr Joseph Bush
Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice
Aston Pharmacy School
Aston University
Birmingham
B4 7ET
UK
Telephone: +441212044016
Facsimile: +441212044187
Email: j.bush2@aston.ac.uk
This research was funded by a grant from the commissioning organisation (NHS Heart of
Birmingham teaching Primary Care Trust).
The My Choice Weight Management Programme
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WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT
Obesity has been highlighted as one of the major public health challenges facing the
UK in the 21
st
Century.
There is insufficient evidence to recommend the provision of structured weight
management interventions via general practitioner practices or community
pharmacies.
WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS
The My Choice Weight Management Programme, delivered via general practitioner
practices and community pharmacies in one city of the UK, produced modest
reductions in weight.
Such programmes alone are unlikely to be sufficient to combat the obesity epidemic.
The My Choice Weight Management Programme
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ABSTRACT
Objective: To assess the effectiveness of a novel, community-based weight management
programme delivered through general practitioner (GP) practices and community
pharmacies in one city in the United Kingdom.
Design: Non-randomised, retrospective, observational comparison of clinical data collected
by participating GP practices and community pharmacies.
Subjects: 451 overweight or obese men and women resident in areas of high
socioeconomic deprivation (82% from black and minority ethnic groups, 86% female, mean
age: 41.1 years, mean BMI: 34.5 kg/m
2
).
Measurements: Weight, waist circumference and BMI at baseline, after 12 weeks and after
9 months. Costs of delivery were also analysed.
Results: Sixty-four per cent of participants lost weight after the first twelve weeks of the My
Choice Weight Management Programme. There was considerable drop-out. Mean
percentage weight loss (last observation carried forward) was 1.9% at 12 weeks and 1.9% at
final follow-up (9 months). There was no significant difference in weight loss between
participants attending GP practices and those attending pharmacies at both twelve weeks
and at final follow-up. Costs per participant were higher via community pharmacy which was
attributable to better attendance at sessions amongst community pharmacy participants than
amongst GP participants.
Conclusion: The My Choice Weight Management Programme produced modest reductions
in weight at 12 weeks and 9 months. Such programmes may not be sufficient to tackle the
obesity epidemic.
The My Choice Weight Management Programme
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INTRODUCTION
Obesity is a significant health and social problem that has reached pandemic levels. Several
prospective studies have demonstrated the relationship between obesity and premature
death from coronary heart disease, cancers and other diseases as well as psychosocial
problems, such as negative self-esteem, social withdrawal and discrimination.
1-5
Obesity now presents as one of the largest health problems facing the UK today and has
been highlighted as one of the major public health challenges facing the UK in the 21
st
Century.
6-8
In the 20 years to 2001, the prevalence of obesity tripled.
9
Based on current
trends, it is estimated that by 2050 over half of the UK adult population could be obese
costing the NHS £9.7 billion and, when higher rates of sickness absence from work
associated with being obese, and reduced productivity and overall costs to business are
taken into account, £49.9 billion to society as a whole.
10
There is a paucity of evidence on the effectiveness of both general practice (GP)-led and
pharmacy-led weight management interventions. UK National Institute for Health and Care
Excellence (NICE) guidance on obesity highlights that the identified evidence did not appear
to suggest that the health professional who provides advice and support was important, the
key issues being whether the health professional is motivational and the maintenance of
support to the patient.
11
One randomised controlled trial of a nurse-led, general practice-based weight management
programme for individuals with a BMI of ≥27 kg/m
2
reported that, at 12 weeks, 34% of
participants in the intervention arms of the trial lost at least 5% of their initial weight
compared to 19% in the usual care arms.
12
In the Counterweight Project, 31% and 32% of
participants respectively had maintained a weight loss of at least 5% of initial weight at 12
and 24 months respectively while in a randomised controlled trial of a primary care-based
The My Choice Weight Management Programme
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weight management intervention, delivered by physicians and tailored to the needs of 144
obese, low-income, African-American women in the US, 13% of participants remaining in the
intervention arm at six months lost 5% of their initial weight compared to 5% of participants
remaining in the control arm.
13-15
However, other GP-based interventions have proven less
successful in reducing the weight of obese patients.
16
Pharmacy involvement in tackling obesity in the UK has been limited to date but with the
high priority now afforded to tackling the obesity epidemic, the community pharmacy-based
provision of weight management services is likely to be given increasing consideration by
commissioners of health services. Available data on the effectiveness of such services are
largely absent but a service delivered by community pharmacies in Scotland produced
weight loss amongst 458 participants of 1.3 kg at 12 weeks and 1.7 kg at one-year follow-up
(using last observation carried forward). Ten per cent and 16% of participants achieved the
target weight loss of 5% at 12 weeks and one year respectively.
17
While community pharmacy-based provision of weight management services has been
limited in the UK, a number of studies have been conducted elsewhere. In a randomised
controlled open-label trial conducted in a single community pharmacy in the United States
the efficacy of a meal replacement programme (Slim-Fast®) was compared to the efficacy of
a conventional reduced calorie diet.
18
Participants in both arms of the trial attended
consultations with a pharmacist every two weeks where advice and counselling were
provided. Statistically significant weight loss was observed in both arms of the trial at 10
sessions (mean weight loss was 4.9 kg in the intervention arm and 4.3 kg in the control arm)
with no significant difference in weight loss between the two arms. In total forty-one per cent
of participants lost at least 5% of their initial weight at 22 sessions. A further study conducted
in a single, university campus pharmaceutical care centre in the USA assessing the
effectiveness of pharmacist education and counselling (and in some cases counselling plus
pharmacotherapy) produced mean weight loss of 3.6 kg.
19
Interventions in Denmark and
