Weight watchers should be available on the NHS

13th July 2010 - A leading nutritionist says that the best way to tackle the UK’s obesity problem could be for GPs to prescribe Weight Watchers courses on the NHS.

Dr Susan Jebb says that people who took part in a study lost twice as much weight on a Weight Watchers course than those given standard care by their doctor. Jebb, Head of Nutrition and Health research at the Medical Research Council, insists that buying patients a weight loss programme would be no more expensive and would reduce the burden of obesity on NHS services.

International trial

Jebb and colleagues examined data collected from 772 obese patients in the UK, Germany and Australia. 87% of participants were women and their average age was 47. Half of the group were randomly allocated to receive 12 months standard care from their doctor, while the other half received a free year’s worth of Weight Watchers vouchers. Participants had their weight recorded at regular intervals throughout the year.

At Weight Watchers, people are advised about how to measure their food intake using a points system and attend weekly sessions where they are weighed. Standard GP care in the UK usually involves being advised to follow a calorie controlled diet and to take more exercise.

Nearly half of those taking part in the trial dropped out. 59% of those in the Weight Watchers group completed the programme and 50% of those given standard GP care saw the trial period through.

Double the weight loss

Among those who completed the full 12 months of the study, Weight Watchers came out on top for losing weight. “However we analysed this data, people seemed to lose about twice as much weight when referred to WeightWatchers than with routine GP-based care,” Jebb tells us from Stockholm where she is presenting her findings at the International Congress on Obesity.

“For those who completed one year, the WeightWatchers group lost nearly 7kg and the ‘usual care’ group only 3kg. About 60% of people going to WeightWatchers lost at least 5% of their initial weight, compared to only a third in usual care,” adds Jebb.

The study was partly funded by Weight Watchers, but Jebb says any other similar commercial weight loss programme should yield similar results as long as it conforms to good practice guidelines and offers members regular local meetings.

Jebb warned in Stockholm yesterday that half of the UK's population will be obese by 2050. If the prediction comes true, dealing with an epidemic of overweight people will be a growing burden on NHS resources. Jebb says paying patients to attend a weight loss programme need not be an expensive option. “This study did not look specifically at cost effectiveness, though the cost is very modest compared to the cost of time with a health professional or the use of pharmacotherapy,” she tells us.