Journal of the American Pharmacists Association
RESEARCHEffects of Weight Reduction Interventions by Community Pharmacists
Section snippets
Objectives
The primary objective of this study was to compare an MR program with a conventional reduced-calorie diet (RCD) for weight management using the pharmacy as the setting and the pharmacist as the point of contact for dietary advice. The effect of these programs on overall health and modification of health risk factors was also assessed.
Setting
This randomized, controlled, open-label study was performed at Travis Pharmacy in Shenandoah, Iowa, in affiliation with the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The study protocol was approved by the medical center’s Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects.
Patients were block randomized to either the conventional RCD group or the MR group. Study participants were followed for 12 weeks during the active weight loss phase (period 1) and for an additional 10 weeks of weight
Demographics
Ninety-five patients, 83 women and 12 men, were screened and randomized to one of two treatment groups. Of those randomized, 88 patients continued through the end of week 2 and were considered eligible for comparison (see Table 1 for demographic information). Sixty-eight patients (72%) completed the active weight loss phase, and 55 (58%) completed the weight maintenance phase. No exclusions were made for nonadherence, but patients were able to voluntarily withdraw from the study. Patients
Discussion
People have difficulty losing weight and maintaining weight loss. Results from a survey published in 1999,26 conducted in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), reveal that in 1996, 28.8% and 35.1% of men in the United States attempted to lose weight and maintain weight loss, respectively; 43.6% and 3.4% of women made these attempts. Health care providers, pharmacists included, have not been very active in helping patients with these efforts. In the 1996 BRFSS survey of
Conclusion
In 2001 the U.S. Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity described obesity as an epidemic that, if left unaddressed, may soon “cause as much preventable disease and death as cigarette smoking.”38 With the prevalence of obesity in the United States today, and the numerous health risks associated with excess weight, easy-to-implement, effective weight management programs are needed. Both an MR strategy and an RCD were effective methods for weight loss and
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The authors declare no conflicts of interest or financial interests in any product or service mentioned in this article, including grants, employment, gifts, stock holdings, or honoraria.
This study was funded by a grant from the Slim-Fast Nutrition Institute, West Palm Beach, Fla. The grant was used to cover overhead, supplies, and analysis costs for the study. No additional royalties were given to the authors.