A pilot study evaluating the clinically managed weight loss program at the Wellness Institute at Seven Oaks General Hospital

Abstract

Background: Obesity is a worldwide problem. With the prevalence of obesity increasing, many weight loss programs have been created to aid in the epidemic. Based on the Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines for obesity management, a weight loss program should involve nutrition, exercise, and psychological components. The Wellness Institute (WI) is a non-profit organization that operates as a medical fitness facility and created the Weight Loss Clinic (WLC) to provide personalized support for individuals based on diet, exercise, and lifestyle, targeting all the core components required for a weight loss program. Since the weight loss industry is dominated by non-evidence-based programs with majority focused on calorie-reduced diets, there is a gap in research on weight loss programs with an exercise and psychological component. Thus, the aim of this pilot study is to collect data on the effectiveness of the comprehensive evidence-based clinically managed weight loss program offered at the WI for future research applications.Materials and Methods: The WLC is a 17-week program during which each participant will progress depending on their personal goals. Population: Inclusion criteria are individuals over the age of 18 years old, are overweight or obese (BMI > 25 kg/m2), have been told by a physician or primary care provider to lose weight, who are concerned with weight and may have other health problems, and have tried to lose weight in the past but have been unsuccessful at maintaining weight loss. Outcome Measures: Outcome measures include: anthropometric measurements, body composition, cardiovascular assessment, clinical chemistry, physical activity assessment, nutrition assessment, behaviour change assessment, and health screenings. Ethics Approval: This evaluation received approval from the University of Manitoba Health Research Ethics Board (Ethics # HS22267 (H2018:401)). Clinicaltrials.gov ID: NCT04290910