Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Obesity is one of the most important problems worldwide in recent times. Groupal lifestyle intervention programmes are efficacious in the management of obesity. While exercise and healthy dietary habits have consistently been shown to improve various metabolic markers, adherence to these behaviors is low and methods that increase adherence to health behaviors are needed.

Objective: The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a groupal weight loss programme for weight loss in obesity and its efficacy in improving health parameters related to obesity.

Materials and Methods: All participants received a groupal lifestyle intervention focused on diet, physical activity, and behavior change strategies. The duration of program was 6 months. Clinical and biochemical parameters were evaluated before and after the intervention.

Results: A total of 112 patients were included. At baseline, the mean body-mass index (BMI) for all participants was 46.1 ± 14.2 kg/m², and the mean weight was 125.8 ± 22.1 kg. The mean age was 46.9 ± 14.3 years and 72.5% were women. 60.4% had hypertension and 23.1% were diabetic. Of the 112 patients, 82 patients completed the follow-up (78.57%). 21.43% of the patients did not attend the appointments and left the program. The percentage of participants who lost 5% or more of their initial weight was 47.6%; In 18.8%of them the weight loss was <5% and 19.6% of patients did not lose weight. Of the 39 patients who achieved the weight loss goal, a significant decrease in BP, basal glycemia, Hba1c, uric acid, T-cholesterol, and triglycerides was observed. The patients who completed the follow-up and had the best results were the oldest and those with the most comorbidities.

Conclusions: The establishment of a groupal weight loss programmes achieves objective weight loss in most patients with a benefit in analytical parameters. Less adherence to our protocolized programme was shown in younger patients, which could be due to less interest and lack of awareness of the disease. Future studies with a longer follow-up period would be interesting.