Community-based, interventionist-guided weight loss program efficacious for early-stage survivors
WEDNESDAY, June 21, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- A community-based interventionist-guided weight-loss program is efficacious for early-stage African-American breast cancer survivors (AABCS), according to a study published online June 15 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Melinda Stolley, Ph.D., from the Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center in Milwaukee, and colleagues examined the effect of a weight loss intervention for AABCS on weight, body composition, and behavior. Early-stage AABCS were randomized to a six-month interventionist-guided or self-guided weight loss program (125 and 121 participants, respectively), which supported changes to promote a 5 percent weight loss. At baseline, post-intervention (six months), and follow-up (12 months), the authors collected anthropometric, body composition, and behavioral data.
The researchers found that both groups lost weight; the mean and percentage of weight loss were greater in the guided group compared with the self-guided group (six months: 3.5 versus 1.3 kg and 3.6 versus 1.4 percent, respectively; both P < 0.001; 12 months: 2.7 versus 1.6 kg and 2.6 versus 1.6 percent, respectively; both P < 0.05). Overall, 44 and 19 percent of participants in the guided and self-guided groups met the goal of 5 percent weight loss. At both time points, the interventionist-guided group had greater body composition and behavioral changes.
"Affordable, accessible health promotion programs represent a critical resource for AABCS," the authors write.
One author disclosed ties to Watermark Research Partners.
Abstract
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