Looking to improve uptake
The Rx Weight Loss program was offered to 1,721 primary care patients overall.
When asked why only 26% of people offered the program agreed to participate, Dr. Thomas replied, “No matter how good the program is, it’s just never going to be the right time for a lot of people to add this to their lives, particularly given the last couple of years where folks are experiencing a lot of challenges and a lot of stressors.”
“Even though it’s an online program, addressing obesity always involves making substantial changes to eating and activity patterns,” he said.
Future steps
The investigators plan to look into ways to get more people to take part in the program.
It is not yet available for widespread use by others, but that’s the goal. Dr. Thomas said they learned ways during the study to make the fully automated, online program easier for others to adopt.
Measuring any effect on weight loss at 1 year is the primary aim of the study. “I think we expect to find something similar to what we see in previous studies, which is that a certain amount of weight regain will be the norm” at 1 year, Dr. Thomas said.
“But a certain amount of weight loss and associated health benefits will persist, making it worthwhile even if, on average, some gradual regain occurs.”A version of this article first appeared on WebMD.com.