Table 1: Periodic health examination, 1999 update: 1. Detection, prevention and treatment of obesity [CMAJ

Periodic health examination, 1999 update:
1. Detection, prevention and treatment of obesity

Table 1: Studies of the effectiveness of community-based programs for obesity prevention

Study Study populations Length of follow-up Patients lost to follow-up Intervention groups Mean baseline BMI Mean weight loss/gain at follow-up, kg Comments

Fortmann et al⁴⁸ 3 North California communities: 2 intervention (n = 748), 1 control (n = 365) 2 yr NA A: Education (mass media, group seminars and literature, cookbooks) (B: Control) NA NA Mean weight in control group 1% higher than in intervention groups

Barr-Taylor et al⁴⁹ 4 North California communities: 2 intervention (n = 2504), 2 control (n = 2504) 6 yr 54% (mainly due to migration) A: Education (mass media, workshops and literature) (B: Control) A: 25.2
B: 24.8 A: +0.6
B: +1.2 Mean BMI did not differ significantly between groups A and B

Jeffery⁵⁰ 6 Minnesota communities: 3 intervention (n = 3527), 3 control (n = 3445) 7 yr NA A: Education (mass media, community advisory board, physician-based education, restaurant programs) (B: Control) A: 25.6
B: 25.8 A: +0.5
B: +0.7 Mean BMI did not differ significantly between groups A and B

Note: NA = data not available for individual intervention groups, BMI = body mass index.

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