AUTHOR=Cachero Katrina , Mollard Rebecca , Myrie Semone , MacKay Dylan 

TITLE=A clinically managed weight loss program evaluation and the impact of COVID-19

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nutrition

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2023.1167813

DOI=10.3389/fnut.2023.1167813

ISSN=2296-861X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p>With the prevalence of obesity increasing, many weight-loss programs were created to aid in combating the trend. The Weight Loss Clinic (WLC) was created to provide personalized support for lifestyle changes using a multidisciplinary team with medical oversight. This study evaluated the clinically-managed weight loss program at the Wellness Institute.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>This was a prospective evaluation of a newly established program between January 2019–August 2020. Participants who entered the weight loss program were approached to learn about the evaluation. A total of 41 participants were included. The primary outcomes included changes in body weight and achievement of more than 5% initial body weight loss. Outcome measures were collected pre-and post-program and the data was analyzed through paired t-tests on R studio.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Greater body weight-loss was seen in completers pre-COVID-19 compared to those who completed during the pandemic (Mean, ±SD; 7.51 ± 6.24 kg <italic>n</italic> = 13 <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001 vs. 1.75 ± 4.43 kg <italic>n</italic> = 9, <italic>p</italic> = 0.02). Completers pre-COVID-19 demonstrated improvements in waist circumference, Framingham risk score, blood pressure, hemoglobin A1C, and body fat percentage.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusions and implications</title><p>Though the sample size was small to show definitve evidence, the results may suggest the program worked well prior to the pandemic but the pandemic created barriers to weight-loss for participants.</p></sec>