Commercial Weight-Loss Programs Are More Effective Than Advice from PCPs

Commercial weight-loss programs have been compared in randomized trials to other self-help approaches with enrollment of self-referred patients, but never to standard counseling in a primary care setting with enrollment of patients identified by their own physicians.

With funding from Weight Watchers (WW), researchers enrolled 772 relatively healthy overweight and moderately obese adults (body-mass index, 27–35 kg/m²; 87% female) who were initially screened by their primary care providers in the U.K., Germany, and Australia. Participants were randomized to 12 months of free access to WW services, including weekly community-based meetings, or to standard weight-loss advice in their primary care practices.

Mean 12-month weight loss was significantly greater in the WW group than in the standard-care group (–4.1 vs. –1.8 kg for all participants; –6.7 vs. –3.3 kg for program completers). Significantly more WW participants than standard-care participants lost at least 5% of baseline body weight (about 46% vs. 23%) and at least 10% of baseline body weight (about 22% vs. 8%).