Background: Maintenance of lost weight is a challenging aspect of weight management, therefore, an online survey of OPTAVIA (“the Program”) coaches and clients was conducted to understand the habits of successful ma...Background: Maintenance of lost weight is a challenging aspect of weight management, therefore, an online survey of OPTAVIA (“the Program”) coaches and clients was conducted to understand the habits of successful maintainers. Methods: Coaches and clients who lost ≥ 10% body weight on the Program, had been trying to maintain their weight loss for ≥1 year, and maintained > 75% of their weight loss during that time were identified. Mean ± SD were calculated for continuous variables and categorical variables were quantified using frequencies and percentages. Results: The analysis included 590 respondents (342 coaches, 248 clients;84% female, 52.6 ± 11.9 years). Average weight loss was 23.7% ± 8.6%;average time in maintenance was 24.5 ± 15.8 months. The most common maintenance strategies included self-monitoring, leveraging habits learned during weight loss, food-related strategies, physical activity, establishing a healthy environment, and becoming a coach. Coaches identified several beneficial factors: higher accountability, increased self-awareness, paying it forward, aligning maintenance with their identity as a coach, being a role model, and engagement with the Program. Conclusions: Successful coaches and clients use behaviors consistent with existing literature combined with several unique to the Program. The novel insights from this research rest primarily on the strategy of becoming a coach to help maintain weight loss.展开更多
Objective: A chart review was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Medifast (MD) meal replacement (MR) plan in a Medifast Weight Control Center (MWCC) on body weight, body composition, and other health measu...Objective: A chart review was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Medifast (MD) meal replacement (MR) plan in a Medifast Weight Control Center (MWCC) on body weight, body composition, and other health measures at 4, 12, 24 weeks, and final weight loss visit. Methods: Charts included adults aged 18 - 70 (n = 446) with a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 who attended one of three MWCCs and were following the MD MR program. Data were collected electronically and included weight, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, pulse, lean muscle mass (LMM), body fat mass, % body fat, and abdominal circumference. Compliance measures included attendance at weekly visits, intake of MRs and supplements, food journals, and ketone testing. Results: Significant weight loss and % weight loss were achieved at all time points with clinically significant weight loss (>5%) occurring in just 4 weeks. Additionally, significant improvements in body composition were seen at all time points coupled with increases in % total body weight as LMM (% LMM improved by 3.5%, 9.8%, 16.0%, and 13.9%, respectively). Blood pressure and pulse were significantly improved, demonstrating the clinical benefit for clients. Multivariate regression revealed a strong inverse relationship between weight change, % compliance with attendance, and the number of weeks that MRs were taken as recommended as well as a positive association with number of ketone tests. Conclusion: The MD MR plan, combined with the support and accountability available in the MWCC, is an efficacious program that promotes significant weight loss and improvements in body composition. These results reveal significant associations between components of compliance and weight loss, but particularly highlight the importance of attendance, a focus of the MWCC model compared to nonclinic models.展开更多
文摘Background: Maintenance of lost weight is a challenging aspect of weight management, therefore, an online survey of OPTAVIA (“the Program”) coaches and clients was conducted to understand the habits of successful maintainers. Methods: Coaches and clients who lost ≥ 10% body weight on the Program, had been trying to maintain their weight loss for ≥1 year, and maintained > 75% of their weight loss during that time were identified. Mean ± SD were calculated for continuous variables and categorical variables were quantified using frequencies and percentages. Results: The analysis included 590 respondents (342 coaches, 248 clients;84% female, 52.6 ± 11.9 years). Average weight loss was 23.7% ± 8.6%;average time in maintenance was 24.5 ± 15.8 months. The most common maintenance strategies included self-monitoring, leveraging habits learned during weight loss, food-related strategies, physical activity, establishing a healthy environment, and becoming a coach. Coaches identified several beneficial factors: higher accountability, increased self-awareness, paying it forward, aligning maintenance with their identity as a coach, being a role model, and engagement with the Program. Conclusions: Successful coaches and clients use behaviors consistent with existing literature combined with several unique to the Program. The novel insights from this research rest primarily on the strategy of becoming a coach to help maintain weight loss.
文摘Objective: A chart review was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Medifast (MD) meal replacement (MR) plan in a Medifast Weight Control Center (MWCC) on body weight, body composition, and other health measures at 4, 12, 24 weeks, and final weight loss visit. Methods: Charts included adults aged 18 - 70 (n = 446) with a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 who attended one of three MWCCs and were following the MD MR program. Data were collected electronically and included weight, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, pulse, lean muscle mass (LMM), body fat mass, % body fat, and abdominal circumference. Compliance measures included attendance at weekly visits, intake of MRs and supplements, food journals, and ketone testing. Results: Significant weight loss and % weight loss were achieved at all time points with clinically significant weight loss (>5%) occurring in just 4 weeks. Additionally, significant improvements in body composition were seen at all time points coupled with increases in % total body weight as LMM (% LMM improved by 3.5%, 9.8%, 16.0%, and 13.9%, respectively). Blood pressure and pulse were significantly improved, demonstrating the clinical benefit for clients. Multivariate regression revealed a strong inverse relationship between weight change, % compliance with attendance, and the number of weeks that MRs were taken as recommended as well as a positive association with number of ketone tests. Conclusion: The MD MR plan, combined with the support and accountability available in the MWCC, is an efficacious program that promotes significant weight loss and improvements in body composition. These results reveal significant associations between components of compliance and weight loss, but particularly highlight the importance of attendance, a focus of the MWCC model compared to nonclinic models.
