A 2-year study conducted by Moores Cancer Center confirmed the weight loss claims of at least one major diet company.
In the trial, researchers provided a randomized clinical trial of 442 overweight or obese women age 18 to 69 with free pre-packaged meals, a structured weight loss program and long-term counseling. The results showed that long-lasting weight loss is feasible.
“We provided the program without charge,” principal investigator Dr. Cheryl L. Rock of the Moores Cancer said. “This is what we call a ‘proof of principle study’. Not enough research has been done with independent researches putting diet program to the test, so we did a randomized clinical trial of Jenny Craig to see if it actually works.”
The women were sorted into three intervention groups — in-person, center-based or telephone — all of whom received weekly one-to-one weight loss counseling and free prepackaged prepared foods from the popular weight loss program Jenny Craig, Inc.
The third group received two individualized weight loss counseling sessions with dietitians who kept in monthly contact. All three groups eventually moved to a meal plan that was not based off Jenny Craig.
The additional incentive for returning for check-ups was a monetary compensation of $25 monetary compensation for each completed clinic visit.
Over this 2-year period, there were follow-up appointments between November 2007 and 2010 to check the progress of the participants.
Rock and her team also encouraged the subjects to increase physical activity to 30 minutes a day, whether it be at a gym, walking around their neighborhood or any other recreational activity.
“There were no drugs involved in this study or any procedures performed,” Rock said. “It [weight loss] is just a matter of changing behaviors in diet and exercise, eating sensibly and having structured meals.”
After 2 years, the data showed that women in the center-based group were able to lose an average of 16 lbs. from their initial weight, the women in the telephone-based group were able to lose 14 lbs. and the control group lost 4 lbs.
“Anyone who is sincerely trying to lose weight should find this study to be very encouraging,” Rock said. “With moral support, motivation and a willing to change there is hope, and it can be done without drugs or surgery.”
Rock plans to conduct further research on how weight loss can affect and increase the chances for survival for women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Beginning in the spring, she will launch a study that uses one’s physique and metabolism to create more individualized plans.
“One size doesn’t fit all,” Rock said in term’s of people’s abilities to change their lifestyle and weight. “No two people are the same and that’s why everyone cannot have the same weight-loss plan and have it be effective.”
This study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
