Extended follow-up of a short total diet replacement programme: results of the Doctor Referral of Overweight People to Low Energy total diet replacement Treatment (DROPLET) randomised controlled trial at 3 years (original) (raw)

2021, International Journal of Obesity

Objectives To test the long-term effectiveness of a total diet replacement programme (TDR) for routine treatment of obesity in a primary care setting. Methods This study was a pragmatic, two-arm, parallel-group, open-label, individually randomised controlled trial in adults with obesity. The outcomes were change in weight and biomarkers of diabetes and cardiovascular disease risk from baseline to 3 years, analysed as intention-to-treat with mixed effects models. Interventions The intervention was TDR for 8 weeks, followed by food-reintroduction over 4 weeks. Behavioural support was provided weekly for 8 weeks, bi-weekly for the next 4 weeks, then monthly for 3 months after which no further support was provided. The usual care (UC) group received dietary advice and behavioural support from a practice nurse for up to 3 months. Results Outcome measures were collected from 179 (66%) participants. Compared with baseline, at 3 years the TDR group lost −6.2 kg (SD 9.1) and usual care −2.7 ...