TOPLINE

Patients with obesity who had already been enrolled in a weight-loss program for about 18 months continued to lose weight over 12 months of telemedicine shared medical appointments (SMAs). The findings suggested that virtual group-based obesity care may support ongoing weight management beyond the early phase when weight loss typically slows.

METHODOLOGY

• Obesity treatments are widely underused and difficult to access, which has led to interest in video-based group visits as a way to improve access. However, little evidence exists about whether they support continued weight loss in patients well into long-term weight management.
• Researchers conducted a retrospective, single-arm analysis of 109 patients (mean age, 62.4 years; 81% women) enrolled in an insurance-based obesity program who received care only through telemedicine from October 2023 to October 2024. All were adults with a BMI ≥ 30.
• At the time of the study, patients had spent an average of 17.8 months in the program and had already lost an average of 6.9 kg. Care included diet and lifestyle changes, with or without medication.
• Each patient first had a 40-minute one-on-one session with a board-certified obesity medicine physician and then joined weekly virtual SMAs. In these sessions, the physician offered personalized medical counseling and made medication changes, while a registered dietitian took group classes on lifestyle habits. Patients were asked to follow a balanced eating plan with controlled portions, tailored to each individual.
• The primary endpoints were the absolute and percentage changes in body weight after 6 and 12 months; changes in A1c and triglyceride levels were secondary endpoints.

TAKEAWAY

• Patients attended a mean of 10.4 classes, and 64% attended five or more.
• The mean weight loss from baseline was 2.38 kg (2.38%) at 6 months and 4.47 kg (4.55%) at 12 months (P < .001 for both).
• A1c levels, 5.96% at baseline, fell by 0.20 units at 12 months, whereas the absolute change at 6 months was not significant. Triglyceride levels, 137.43 mg/dL at baseline, dropped by 25.19 mg/dL at 6 months and 35.83 mg/dL at 12 months (P < .05 for both).
• Weight loss did not differ significantly by sex, diabetes status, use of obesity medications, or the number of classes attended.

IN PRACTICE

"This study demonstrates that telemedicine SMAs can be an efficient and effective approach to obesity management, in all stages," the authors wrote.

SOURCE

The study was led by Keerthana Haridas, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. It was published online in Obesity Science & Practice.

LIMITATIONS

The study's retrospective nature, its small sample size, and a self-selected cohort composed mostly of women may have limited the generalizability of the findings. Self-reported race and ethnicity data were missing. The study assessed primary and secondary outcomes for only 12 months but did not evaluate them for longer-term effects.

DISCLOSURES

No specific funding was reported. The authors declared having no relevant conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.