A Randomized Clinical Trial of a Tailored Lifestyle Intervention for Obese, Sedentary, Primary Care Patients

Abstract Purpose The aim of the study was to test a tailored lifestyle intervention for helping obese primary care patients achieve weight loss and increase physical activity. Methods We conducted a 24-month randomized clinical trial in Rhode Island. Primary care physicians identified obese, sedentary patients motivated to lose weight and increase their moderate to vigorous physical activity. These patients were randomized to 1 of 2 experimental groups: enhanced intervention (EI) or standard intervention (SI). Both groups received 3 face-to-face weight loss meetings. The enhanced intervention group also received telephone counseling calls, individually tailored print materials, and DVDs focused on diet and physical activity. Active intervention occurred in year 1 with a tapered maintenance phase in year 2. Results Two hundred eleven obese, sedentary patients were recruited from 24 primary care practices. Participants were 79% women and 16% minorities. They averaged 48.6 years of age, with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 37.8 kg/m2 , and 21.2 minutes/week of moderate to vigorous physical activity. Significantly more EI participants lost 5% of their baseline weight than SI participants (group by visit, P