Finding if Weight Loss On-The-Cheap Works
Health-care professionals say obesity is a growing national problem that could critically impact public health and the costs of associated health care.
Kara Gallagher, assistant professor of exercise physiology, has conducted a 12-week study to see if lower-cost weight-loss programs are just as effective as traditional weight-loss strategies.
"With obesity increasingly affecting people in all categories and age groups, more attention is being paid to weight loss and lifestyle-change programs," Gallagher says. "We are asking if there are ways to cut costs associated with weight-loss strategies while still getting the results of other programs."
![[Image]](images/weight-loss.jpg)
Kara Gallagher (left), an assistant professor of exercise physiology, works with research assistant and exercise physiology graduate student Melissa Burgard on a study of weight-loss strategies.
Most traditional weight-loss programs consist of weekly courses taught by health-care professionals who discuss behavioral concepts and diet and exercise recommendations. The weekly courses give participants the opportunity to share ideas with and encourage each other and ask questions of the health-care professional.
Gallagher divided 40 participants into two groups, one that went through traditional behavioral weight-loss programs and one that went through a more minimal version. In the minimal program, participants were given the same written behavioral material without classes and group meetings.
Gallagher found that both groups had an average weight loss of 12 pounds at the end of the 12-week program. However, she found that of the 10 people who dropped out of the study before it was complete, most were members of the minimal group.
"Our results do not report the exact reasons why people dropped out," Gallagher says. "But the fact that most of the drop-outs were in the minimal group indicates that they may not have felt they were getting enough support."
She continues, "An interesting aspect we found is that even those who completed the program in the minimal group still looked most forward to the weigh-in, when there was someone there to answer questions and share good news with."
Gallagher says that a step-care, or gradual, approach might be best for an effective, affordable weight-loss program. Such an approach would start everyone at the minimal level, but offer more structured programs to engage participants who begin to get off track.
Gallagher and a graduate student are following 20 of the original participants to see how many of them continue to exercise on their own. One group of 10 have started receiving 12 weeks of follow-up e-mails providing encouragement for proper exercise behavior. The second group will receive e-mails after the first group. Data from the group that received immediate prompting will be compared to the latter group to see if there is any difference in behavior.
"Obesity has reached a national epidemic, and health-care professionals are beginning to examine approaches to behavior change," Gallagher says.
Gallagher adds she plans to apply for an NIH grant in the spring for a larger study similar to the pilot program comparing the effects of individualized weight-loss programs and group weight-loss programs.
