Randomised controlled trial of four commercial weight loss programmes in the UK: initial findings from the BBC “diet trials”

Abstract Objective To compare the effectiveness of four commercial weight loss diets available to adults in the United Kingdom. Design Six month multicentre randomised unblinded controlled trial. Setting Community based sample of otherwise healthy overweight and obese adults. Interventions Dr Atkins...

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Published inBMJ Vol. 332; no. 7553; pp. 1309 - 1311
Main Authors Truby, Helen, Baic, Sue, deLooy, Anne, Fox, Kenneth R, Livingstone, M Barbara E, Logan, Catherine M, Macdonald, Ian A, Morgan, Linda M, Taylor, Moira A, Millward, D Joe
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London British Medical Journal Publishing Group 03.06.2006
British Medical Association
BMJ Publishing Group LTD
BMJ Publishing Group
BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
EditionInternational edition
Subjects
Adipose Tissue - pathology
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Biological and medical sciences
Body fat
Clinical trials
College faculty
Control groups
Diet, Reducing
Follow-Up Studies
General aspects
Heart Diseases - etiology
Humans
Low carbohydrate diets
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Nutrition
Obesity
Obesity - diet therapy
Obesity - pathology
Overweight
Patient Compliance
Reality programming
Television
United Kingdom
Weight control
Weight Loss
Weight loss diets
United Kingdom
Europe
UK
Medicine
Nutrition
Diet
Weight loss
Randomised controlled trial
Clinical trial
Feeding
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Summary:Abstract Objective To compare the effectiveness of four commercial weight loss diets available to adults in the United Kingdom. Design Six month multicentre randomised unblinded controlled trial. Setting Community based sample of otherwise healthy overweight and obese adults. Interventions Dr Atkins' new diet revolution, Slim-Fast plan, Weight Watchers pure points programme, and Rosemary Conley's eat yourself slim diet and fitness plan. Main outcome measures Weight and body fat changes over six months. Results All diets resulted in significant loss of body fat and weight over six months. Groups did not differ significantly but loss of body fat and weight was greater in all groups compared with the control group. In an intention to treat analysis, average weight loss was 5.9 kg and average fat loss was 4.4 kg over six months. The Atkins diet resulted in significantly higher weight loss during the first four weeks, but by the end was no more or less effective than the other diets. Conclusions Clinically useful weight loss and fat loss can be achieved in adults who are motivated to follow commercial diets for a substantial period. Given the limited resources for weight management in the NHS, healthcare practitioners should discuss with their patients programmes known to be effective. Trial registration Clinical trials NCT00327821 [ClinicalTrials.gov].
Bibliography:href:bmj-332-1309.pdf
Correspondence to: H Truby
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Funding: The study was sponsored by the BBC. The BBC had no role in the study design; collection, analysis, or interpretation of data; or report writing.
Correspondence to: H Truby h.truby@surrey.ac.uk
Competing interests: KRF receives consulting fees for serving on the scientific advisory panel of Slimming World, a company that offers a support service for weight loss. This company was not involved in this trial but as it is similar to Rosemary Conley and Weight Watchers, the conclusions may have implications for the company.
Ethical approval: South East multicentre research ethics committee, approval number MREC 01/01/44. Local ethics committee approval was also obtained at each centre.
Contributors: HT was the principal investigator and is guarantor. She contributed to the study design, data analysis, interpretation, drafting, and writing of the paper. DJM and LMM contributed to the study design, data analysis, interpretation, drafting, and writing of the paper. KRF contributed to the study design, interpretation, reporting, and critical review of paper. SB contributed to study execution, data collection, and critical review of the paper. IAM, MAT, MBEL, CML, and AdeL contributed to the study planning, interpretation, reporting, and critical review of the paper. Thanks to David Lovell for statistical advice; Manana Stanley, Rebecca Hiscutt, and Anne Herriot for planning, study execution, and data collection; Monique Raats and Richard Shepherd for study planning; Kathryn Hart, Rachel Barratt, Karen Sargent, Sarah Jones, Julie Littlewood, Sujata Dissanayake, Elizabeth Simpson, and Michelle Hazell for data collection; Mark Davis for study design and data collection; Katherine Collings for planning, study execution, and data collection; Paula J Robson, Julie MW Wallace, Maxine P Bonham, and Laura Nichol for study execution and data collection; Susan Jebb for study design; and Kirsten Rennie for sample size determination.
ISSN:0959-8138
0959-8146
1468-5833
1756-1833
DOI:10.1136/bmj.38833.411204.80