Effectiveness of a community pharmacy weight management programme

Background Obesity is a growing problem in England with one quarter of the adult population being obese and around 60 % being overweight or obese. Given the high costs of treating obesity-related conditions such as coronary heart disease and type-2 diabetes the UK Government aims to reduce obesity through public health services including those provided by community pharmacists. Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of a community pharmacy weight management clinic in assisting obese patients to reduce their weight. Setting Community pharmacies across four Primary Care Trusts in England. Methods Retrospective analysis of data collected by pharmacies providing weight management programmes. The service involved measurement with provision of advice and support. Data analysis consisted of frequency counts, percentages and means with standard deviations (SD) for demographic and biometric variables. Paired t tests were used to compare weight, waist circumference and blood pressure at 3 and 6 months. Main outcome measure Weight change at 3 months. Results 281 patients attended the programme across four Primary Care Trusts. Three-quarters were female, mean age 52.8 years (SD +/- A 14.4) and mean baseline weight 96.3 kg (SD +/- A 15.7). At 3 months patients had lost weight (mean change = -3.07 kg) and waist circumference (mean change = -3.87 cm), but there was no difference in blood pressure. After 6 months weight and waist circumference were further reduced from baseline (mean change = -4.59 kg, -4.79 cm respectively) and there was a reduction in blood pressure (mean change systolic = -9.5 mmHg; diastolic = -4.7 mmHg). Conclusion The study has demonstrated that reductions in weight and waist circumference can be achieved in patients who participate in a community pharmacy weight management programme.