Plain English Summary
Background and study aims
There is considerable research showing that being overweight or obese can lead to further health problems. In terms of helping people manage their weight, research also shows that local weight loss programmes, like Slimming World, can help people achieve their short and long-term weight loss goals. This study aims to identify whether the community weight loss programme in Wigan Borough is effective in helping people to lose weight.
Who can participate?
People aged over 16 who are overweight and obese who either live in Wigan or are registered with a Wigan Borough GP
What does the study involve?
Participants will be asked to attend a Slimming World class and an accompanying exercise lesson every week for 12 weeks. The programme is free of charge for participants for the 12 weeks and participants are expected to attend every session if they can, to help them achieve their weight loss goals. After 12 weeks, participants will be invited to continue with Slimming World classes (free of charge if they achieve their goal weight or £4 per session if not), along with attending the exercise support sessions at a reduced cost. Participants will have their weight measured before the study, at the end of the 12 week period, and 1 year following this.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating in this study?
The possible benefits to participants taking part in this study include weight loss, and the individual benefits of physical activity even if no weight loss occurs, including a reduction in blood pressure and improved blood choelsterol. The possible risks of participating in this study include potential psychological harm through being classified as obese and potential disappointment about not losing weight. Additionally, physical activity can lead to musculoskeletal injury and cardiac events, but this risk is minimal, as all participants with 'at risk' conditions will have had a GP approved exercise referral.
Where is the study run from?
Inspiring Healthy Lifestyles, Wigan (UK)
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
June 2008 to August 2018
Who is funding the study?
University of Chester (UK)
Who is the main contact?
Orla Flannery
o.flannery@chester.ac.uk
Trial website
Contact information
Type
Scientific
Primary contact
Mr Nick Colledge
ORCID ID
Contact details
Department of Clinical Sciences and Nutrition
University of Chester
Parkgate Road
Chester
CH2 2AS
Chester
CH2 2AS
United Kingdom
Type
Scientific
Additional contact
Dr David Broom
ORCID ID
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0305-937X
Contact details
Academy of Sport and Physical Activity
Faculty of Health and Wellbeing
Sheffield Hallam University
Room A220
Collegiate Hall
Collegiate Crescent
Sheffield
S10 2BP
SHEFFIELD
S10 2BP
United Kingdom
+44 (0)114 225 4369
D.R.Broom@shu.ac.uk
Type
Scientific
Additional contact
Dr Orla Flannery
ORCID ID
Contact details
Department of Clinical Sciences and Nutrition
University of Chester
Parkgate Road
Chester
CH2 2AS
CHESTER
CH2 2AS
United Kingdom
01244 513431
o.flannery@chester.ac.uk
Additional identifiers
EudraCT number
N/A
ClinicalTrials.gov number
N/A
Protocol/serial number
N/A
Study information
Scientific title
Three and twelve-month body mass outcomes after attendance at a community-based weight management intervention in North West England
Acronym
N/A
Study hypothesis
Null hypothesis : There is no change in weight loss in the short term (3 months) or long term (12 months) amongst completers of a 3 month community based weight management programme.
Ethics approval
Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Clinical Sciences Research Ethics Committee, University of Chester, 18/05/2016, Reference: 1166/16/NC/CSN
Study design
Interventional non-randomised retrospective analysis
Primary study design
Interventional
Secondary study design
Non randomised study
Trial setting
Community
Trial type
Treatment
Patient information sheet
Not available in web format, please use contact details to request a participant information sheet
Condition
Overweight and obesity
Intervention
This study was a retrospective analysis of a multi-component tier 2 community weight management (CWM) service for adults commissioned locally as part of care pathway (LWFG) between January 2009 and November 2013. The CWM service was commissioned to provide a free 2 hour multi-component evidence-based programme over twelve weeks in line with NICE guidance (2014) offering support and advice around healthy eating, physical activity and behaviour change, as well as a 45 minute exercise session. The service was provided by Wigan Council’s leisure trust, Inspiring Healthy Lifestyles (formerly Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust) working in partnership with Slimming World.
Eligible participants were triaged to the service by the separately commissioned telephone access hub. The Wigan CWM service was operated as a rolling programme with 56 weekly community-based sessions throughout the borough, giving new participants the opportunity to immediately book a place on a programme that suited them best in terms of both time and location. Participants were requested to attend every session of the Slimming World class and exercise component (provided by Inspiring Healthy Lifestyles). Those participants that attended at least 9 out of the 12 combined sessions were identified as a completer (arrangements could be made, in the event of illness or a planned holiday, to ‘authorise’ agreed absences, and to attend later sessions).
After 12 weeks, participants were invited to continue with Slimming World classes (free of charge if goal weight was achieved, or £4 per session if not) and to attend the exercise support sessions with Inspiring healthy lifestyles at a reduced cost. Inspiring healthy lifestyles and Slimming World organised an annual fashion show event with previous successful participants to celebrate and inspire further success.
Participants were measured at baseline and followed up at 3 and 12 months to report on key outcomes. There was no control group as part of this study.
Intervention type
Behavioural
Phase
Drug names
Primary outcome measure
Body weight in kg, assessed using weighing scales at the baseline, after 12 weeks, and 1 year post-intervention completion
Secondary outcome measures
Participants achieving 5% weight loss at 1 year post-intervention, assessed as per primary outcome measure
Overall trial start date
01/06/2008
Overall trial end date
01/08/2018
Reason abandoned (if study stopped)
Eligibility
Participant inclusion criteria
1. Aged 17 years or older
2. Overweight or obese
3. Self-referred to an access hub
4. One of the following:
4.1. BMI 25-39.9 kg/m² with or without co-morbidities
4.2. BMI 40-44.9 kg/m² without co-morbidities
5. Any of the following:
5.1. Living in Wigan borough
5.2. Registered with a local GP in the Wigan borough
5.3. Working within the Wigan borough
Participant type
Other
Age group
Adult
Gender
Both
Target number of participants
Commissioners funded up to 4,000 new places on the community weight service per annum.
Participant exclusion criteria
1. Serious uncontrolled disease i.e. angina, diabetes, asthma, COPD, heart failure
2. Recent complicated myocardial infarction and/or awaiting further investigation
3. Uncontrolled arrhythmia that compromises cardiac function
4. Blood pressure at rest above 180 mg systolic and 100 mg diastolic
5. Neuromuscular or rheumatoid disorders that are exacerbated by exercise
6. Unstable psychiatric disorder
7. Acute infection
8. Not medically fit to take part in 12 weeks of physical activity in doctor's opinion
9. Chronic back pain for over 6 months without a previous physiotherapy assessment
10. Eating disorder
Recruitment start date
01/01/2009
Recruitment end date
30/11/2013
Locations
Countries of recruitment
United Kingdom
Trial participating centre
Inspiring Healthy Lifestyles (previously Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust)
Robin Park Sports Centre,
Loire Drive,
WIGAN
WN5 0UL
United Kingdom
Sponsor information
Organisation
University of Chester
Sponsor details
Department of Clinical Sciences and Nutrition
University of Chester
Parkgate Road
Chester
CH2 2AS
CHESTER
CH2 2AS
United Kingdom
Sponsor type
University/education
Website
Funders
Funder type
Not defined
Funder name
University of Chester
Alternative name(s)
Funding Body Type
private sector organisation
Funding Body Subtype
Universities (academic only)
Location
United Kingdom
Results and Publications
Publication and dissemination plan
The work has been presented at the European Congress of Obesity 2018 as a poster. The plan is to now publish this in a peer reviewed journal.
IPD sharing statement:
The datasets generated during and analysed during the current study will be available upon request from Orla Flannery, o.flannery@chester.ac.uk, data is available as an SPSS file on request subject to the approval of a data sharing agreement). All data is anonymised and ethical approval was obtained.
Intention to publish date
31/12/2020
Participant level data
Available on request
Basic results (scientific)
Publication list