Weight Loss Intervention Benefits Obese Patients With Mental Illness

the Psychiatry Advisor take:

Obesity is a common problem in people suffering from mental illness. However, engaging obese patients in a weight loss intervention program may help patients to shed pounds.

Catana Brown, PhD, of Midwestern University, Glendale, Arizona, and colleagues examined 136 individuals with one of four different serious mental illness who received either RENEW (Recovering Energy through Nutrition and Exercise for Weight Loss) treatment or treatment as usual. RENEW is a one-year program that includes an intensive, maintenance and intermittent supports phase.

The group that received RENEW experienced a modest weight loss of 4.8 pounds (lbs) at three months, 4.1 lbs at 6 months and a slight weight gain of 1.5 lbs at 12 months, the researchers reported in Schizophrenia Research. Meanwhile, the control group gained a total of 6.2 lbs at 12 months.

However when settings were examined separately the responder sites had a weight loss of 9.4 lbs at three months, 10.9 lbs at six months and 7 lbs at 12 months.

Individuals with serious mental illness have high rates of obesity and a need for specialized weight loss intervention programs. This study examines the efficacy of the RENEW weight loss intervention and examines the impact of the intervention setting on outcomes.

“The concept of the obesogenic environment deserves further examination as a factor in the success of weight loss programs,” the researchers concluded.