Participation in a commercial weight management program is associated with greater weight loss at three and 12 months than a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach, according to a study published online Aug. 16 in JAMA Network Open.
Deborah F. Tate, Ph.D., from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and colleagues compared the differences in weight change between individuals randomly assigned to either a commercial weight management program or a DIY approach. The analysis included 373 adults (aged 18 to 75 years) with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 45 kg/m².
The researchers found that at three months, participants in the commercial program had a mean weight loss of −3.8 kg versus −1.8 kg among those in the DIY group, while at 12 months, participants had a mean weight loss of −4.4 kg and −1.7 kg, respectively. A greater percentage of participants in the commercial program group achieved loss of 5 percent of body weight at both three months (40.7 percent) and 12 months (42.8 percent) versus those in the DIY group (18.6 and 24.7 percent, respectively).
“A commercial weight management program with reduced dietary self-monitoring produced clinically significant weight loss and may partially address the need for evidence-based approaches beyond the clinic setting,” the authors write.
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