News

Telephone counseling aids weight loss

Gerald Hurowitz, M.D.Published 18 February 20091 min read

Key points

Obese adults trying to lose weight might benefit just as much from advice received over the phone as they would from in-person counseling, a new study suggests.
The findings, reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine, suggest that phone-based counseling could offer a convenient way to give people personalized weight-loss help.
The study included 376 obese adults who were randomly assigned to receive various methods of lifestyle counseling in addition to the weight-loss drug sibutramine, brand name Meridia.
Researchers at Pfizer, Inc. found that patients who had frequent phone calls with a dietitian - up to 18 over six months - fared as well as those who had frequent face-to-face meetings.

Obese adults trying to lose weight might benefit just as much from advice received over the phone as they would from in-person counseling, a new study suggests.

The findings, reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine, suggest that phone-based counseling could offer a convenient way to give people personalized weight-loss help.

The study included 376 obese adults who were randomly assigned to receive various methods of lifestyle counseling in addition to the weight-loss drug sibutramine, brand name Meridia.

Researchers at Pfizer, Inc. found that patients who had frequent phone calls with a dietitian - up to 18 over six months - fared as well as those who had frequent face-to-face meetings.

Furthermore, both groups generally lost more weight than their counterparts who had less-frequent, in-person contact with a dietitian.

On average, men and women in the "high-frequency" in-person counseling group lost 9 percent of their initial weight over six months. That figure was nearly 8 percent in the group that received frequent phone calls.

The weight loss was less significant - about 6 percent, on average - in the group that received fewer (up to seven) in-person sessions. A fourth study group, which received frequent emails, had a similar result.

Finally, the fifth study group - a "self-help" group where patients were given only lifestyle manuals and access to a weight-loss Web site - lost an average of 5 percent of their starting weight.

The fact that the phone-based and in-person counseling groups fared similarly well is "most novel and interesting finding," write Dr. Andres G. Digenio and his colleagues.

"By reducing the number of in-person visits to a physician's office," the researchers write, "telephone contacts may lower costs for both patients and providers, and by reducing visit burden, it may even extend adherence to the weight-loss program."

Further studies, they conclude, should now test whether this is the case.

SOURCE: Annals of Internal Medicine, February 17, 2009.

Written and revised by

Gerald Hurowitz, M.D.

Our doctors write and review articles for accuracy and keep them up to date.

health.am provides general information, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified health professional about your own health.

Explore health topics

Telephone counseling aids weight loss

Gerald Hurowitz, M.D.Published 18 February 20091 min read

Key points

Obese adults trying to lose weight might benefit just as much from advice received over the phone as they would from in-person counseling, a new study suggests.
The findings, reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine, suggest that phone-based counseling could offer a convenient way to give people personalized weight-loss help.
The study included 376 obese adults who were randomly assigned to receive various methods of lifestyle counseling in addition to the weight-loss drug sibutramine, brand name Meridia.
Researchers at Pfizer, Inc. found that patients who had frequent phone calls with a dietitian - up to 18 over six months - fared as well as those who had frequent face-to-face meetings.