Weight loss interventions for overweight and obese patients in primary care: A literature review.

Abstract

Primary care is the ideal place to tackle the obesity crisis. This literature review looks at which interventions are suitable for use in general practice. Objective: To identify which weight loss interventions are best delivered through primary care to achieve beneficial outcomes for patients and practitioners. Methods: A literature search was conducted using online databases: Academic Search Complete, CINAHL complete, Internurse, Medline Complete, PubMed, Trip, Psych-Info and Web of Science. The search was limited to peer reviewed, English-language articles published between 2007–2017. Findings: Three core themes emerged from the literature: recruitment of participants, attrition rates and the effects of intervention. The intervention that used a commercial provider yielded the highest percentage (60%) of patients who lost a clinically significant 5% body weight. Mean attrition rates between studies were below 30% average at 23.87%, and men were underrepresented in recruitment. Conclusion: Commercial providers can assist primary care with the burden related to obesity. In addition, training is required to support and encourage primary care practitioners to manage weight-related interactions with their patients. Male under-representation could be decreased by forming male-specific services and further research into mechanisms behind attrition, such as motivation, is recommended.