Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Population Health (CCEPH) Epidemiologist Tenisha Hill, presented findings from a recent comparative effectiveness analysis at Obesity Week in New Orleans, October 31 - November 4, 2016. Obesity Week is an international meeting focused on the basic science, clinical application, surgical intervention and prevention of obesity.
Tenisha's poster was on the real world effectiveness of clinic-based intensive behavioral therapy (IBT). Her study compared weight loss outcomes over one year between obese adult Marshfield Clinic patients who received IBT versus a matched comparison group of obese adults that did not receive IBT (i.e., usual care). Findings indicated that IBT was modestly effective, resulting in about 3% weight loss over one year, which was twice as much weight loss as no treatment. But IBT benefits seemed to erode over time, with few patients completing all allotted visits. More research is needed on ways to attract and engage obese adults in clinic-based weight management counseling, which is currently being studied in a large national trial that Tenisha manages for MCRI (Marshfield Clinic Research Institute), the Rural Engagement in Primary Care for Optimizing Weight Reduction (RE-POWER) Study.