Doctor Referral of Overweight People to Low Energy Treatment - DROPLET
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A randomised controlled trial of a low energy liquid diet treatment compared with usual care for weight management in primary care
IRAS ID
172768
Contact name
Susan Jebb
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Buckinghamshire NHS Trust
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN75092026
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Obesity affects 1 in 4 adults and is a major cause of diabetes and heart disease, but even modest reductions in weight can bring health benefits. In routine practice patients lose more weight if referred to a commercial group-based weight loss programme than if they receive advice from a practice nurse, but this type of programme is not acceptable to all patients. This study will test whether if doctors refer patients who are overweight to a different type of programme, comprising a low energy liquid diet plus individual behavioural support, this will be more effective in helping people to lose weight than weight loss advice provided by the practice nurse. We will recruit participants from around 10 GP practices, mostly within a 50 miles radius of Oxford. Patients who are overweight and eligible to take part will be randomly allocated to usual care or the low energy liquid diet programme. At baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months we will record weight, waist circumference and body fat. We will take a blood sample to measure risk factors for diabetes and heart disease and participants will complete a questionnaire about their quality of life and what they are doing to control their weight. All measurements will be made at the GP practice. This research is funded by a grant from the Cambridge Weight Plan, but the study has been planned and will be conducted independently by researchers at the University of Oxford.
REC name
South Central - Oxford B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/SC/0337
Date of REC Opinion
16 Jun 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion