The lifestyle challenge program: a multidisciplinary approach to weight management.

BACKGROUND

The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in the US has received widespread attention and is highlighted in recent government-issued health priorities. While there are many weight loss programs in different settings, few include pharmacist involvement in spite of pharmacists' recognized easy accessibility to the public.

OBJECTIVE

To provide insight into a successful, collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to weight management and to encourage pharmacists and other healthcare professionals to adopt a similar approach to patient management.

METHODS

Adult patients >18 years of age were recruited from an outpatient university-based setting to participate in a weight management program. The principles of the program included diet, exercise, and behavior modification. The program was conducted through weekly one-hour group sessions held over a 20-week period. Faculty involved in the program included an attending physician specializing in nutrition, a pharmacist, and a behavioral psychologist. All data are expressed as mean +/- SD unless otherwise specified.

RESULTS

Ninety participants (74 female, mean age 48 +/- 10 y) entered the program between April 2001 and April 2004. Participants had multiple obesity-related comorbid diseases. The weight of completers (n = 59) decreased from 100.9 +/- 20 kg at baseline to 97.3 +/- 19.5 kg at 10 weeks and 95.9 +/- 20 kg at 20 weeks. Thirty-nine patients completed both baseline and final assessments, which showed improvement in health-related quality of life, binge-eating behavior, and depressive symptoms (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

This program is a successful multidisciplinary model for the management of overweight and obese patients in an outpatient-based hospital setting.