Weight Loss Counselling

More people are dealing with weight-related issues, and failing to lose weight can leave them feeling hopeless, deprived, and depressed. For some people, losing weight is as simple as following a calorie-deficient diet and getting active, but many people find losing weight difficult and even depressing. Most people associate food with emotions, and weight problems can begin in early adulthood and last for most of a person’s life.

HBCSS

The design of the HBCSS is similar to the previous trials conducted on diet and exercise. The intervention uses a web-based information system, and all participants received a link and password. In this way, they could log into the system, access information, and use the tools to lose weight and improve physical activity. Weekly reminders were sent, and they were notified of new tasks. The intervention was effective in losing weight and decreasing waist circumference, but it did not affect other components of the metabolic syndrome.

CBT

One form of cognitive behaviour therapy used in weight loss counselling is called CBT-OB. This approach integrates strategies from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with other approaches to achieve weight loss. It is based on personalized cognitive conceptualization, and aims to change the way people think and behave. The CBT-OB approach emphasizes patient involvement and enables them to make positive changes in their lives. During the weight loss counselling process, the patient will be actively encouraged to make changes to their diet.

SHG

A new study shows that combining SHG weight loss counselling with health behaviour change support system (HBCSS) increases the rate of successful weight loss. In the combined intervention arms, the weight loss rate increased nearly threefold, from 2.7 to 11.3% to 8.6-11.3%. Previously, weight loss success rate was not associated with the presence of HBCSS in the intervention arm. Nonetheless, SHG weight loss counselling alone is not associated with significant weight loss.

Individual counselling

One study compared group and individual counselling for weight loss in university students. It involved 112 participants, and four were excluded due to withdrawal from the control group. Most of the participants were females, which may be of particular interest, as studies have shown that female university students are more likely to be overweight or obese than their male counterparts. In the end, both group and individual counselling produced a significant clinical outcome. But in the case of weight loss, the results showed that group counselling led to greater weight loss and BMI reduction, while individual counselling significantly improved BMI.

Internet-based HBCSS

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a new Web-based high-quality health behaviour support system (HBCSS) for weight loss counselling. This intervention has been shown to reduce waist circumference, which is an important criterion for the metabolic syndrome. However, changes in other components of metabolic syndrome did not reach statistical significance. Therefore, the results of this study are not directly applicable to the general population. Further studies will be needed to determine whether the new HBCSS is suitable for use in primary care.