Preventing T2D With Referral to Commercial Weight Management Program

HealthDay News — Primary care referral along with a commercial weight management provider can deliver an effective diabetes prevention program, according to a study published online in BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care.

Carolyn Piper, from the Department of Public Health in London, and colleagues evaluated whether a diabetes prevention program delivered by a commercial weight management company using a primary care referral pathway could reduce progression to type 2 diabetes. A total of 166 patients with non-diabetic hyperglycemia were referred by 14 primary care practices. The intervention included an initial 90-minute session followed by 48 weekly Weight Watchers group meetings.

Of the referred patients, 149 were eligible to participate; 79% of them attended an activation session, and 77% started the weekly sessions (75% female, 90% white). The researchers found that diabetes prevention programs resulted in a mean reduction in HbA1c of 2.84 mmoL/moL at 12 months. More than one-third of patients (38%) returned to normoglycemia, while 3% developed type 2 diabetes at 12 months. Over the 12-month period there was a mean weight reduction in BMI of 3.2 kg/m².

“The lifestyle changes and weight loss achieved in the intervention translated into considerable reductions in diabetes risk, with an immediate and significant public health impact,” conclude the authors.

Disclosures: One author reports financial ties to Weight Watchers, which helped fund the study.

Reference

PIper C, Marossy A, Griffiths Z, Adegboye A. Evaluation of a type 2 diabetes prevention program using a commercial weight management provider for non-diabetic hyperglycemic patients referred by primary care in the UK [published online October 16, 2017]. BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. doi:10.1136/bmjdrc-2017-000418