Poster Presentation Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society Annual Scientific Conference 2024

The impact of a multidisciplinary group intervention on weight loss, diet quality and mood in an Australian sample with severe and complex obesity. (#271)

Kathryn Williams 1 , Supreet Saluja 1 , Sophia Kwan 1 , Sally Badorrek 1
  1. University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Severe and class 3 obesity is increasing in prevalence nationally, and relative to other forms of obesity it places the greatest economic burden on our healthcare system. Multidisciplinary obesity services may reduce this burden, however there was little evaluation of their efficacy in Australia. Thus, this presentation will discuss the outcomes of an Australian-based 8-week group multidisciplinary intervention, termed Be Well, on initial weight, diet-quality and mood outcomes in patients living with severe obesity. The study was conducted at the Family Metabolic health service – i.e., a multidisciplinary, hospital-based and publicly funded specialist obesity service, based in New South Wales, Australia. One hundred and twenty-seven patients were registered to attend Be Well, of which 98 attended the first session, and 77 proceeded to complete the intervention (i.e., attend 6/8 sessions). Compared to baseline (week 1), patients who completed the intervention had significant reductions in BMI, self-reported discretionary food intake, and subjective stress and depression scores. Patients reported feeling less isolated and having an improved understanding of health beyond weight, post the intervention. This study adds support for using group interventions as a first step for treatment of severe obesity by tertiary services. We discuss implications for public health and policies focused on treatment of severe obesity.