A Two-Year Randomized Trial of Obesity Treatment in Primary Care Practice

This trial compared three weight-loss interventions (usual care, brief lifestyle counseling, and enhanced brief lifestyle counseling) in primary care practice. Enhanced brief lifestyle counseling was most effective, resulting in significant weight loss in about one third of patients. Investigators are searching for new approaches to the treatment of obesity during routine medical visits. 1 – 4 Trials in which primary care providers (PCPs) offer counseling about diet and activity (i.e., lifestyle counseling) have led to weight loss of 2.5 kg or less over study periods ranging from 6 to 18 months. 5 – 7 Limited treatment contact is probably responsible for this modest degree of weight loss. 1 Given the demands on providers' time, an increase in the frequency of PCP counseling does not appear to be feasible. 8 As an alternative, Tsai et al. 9 trained medical assistants to deliver individual lifestyle counseling with . . .