Evaluation of a Community-Based Behavioral Weight Loss Program in Chinese Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: Weight losses between a group of participants assigned to a weight loss program based in the community [i.e., specifically the methodology used by Weight Watchers (WW)] and a Nutrition Education (NE) control group were compared in this study. Methods: In this 6-month trial, 300 participants with overweight or obesity were recruited from Beijing city, China, and randomly assigned to the WW or NE group. Weight, waist circumference, and biochemical parameters were assessed at baseline and 6 months. Results: At 6 months, the majority of participants (79% for WW; 89% for NE) completed the study. WW participants lost significantly more weight than the NE group (-4.2 +/- 5.6 kg vs. -0.6 +/- 3.6 kg). More WW participants lost 5% or 10% of their starting weight [>= 5%: 52.0% of WW participants vs. 11.3% of NE participants (odds ratio 8.15, 95% CI: 4.43-14.97)]; [>= 10%: 26.0% of WW vs. 3.3% of NE participants (odds ratio 9.39, 95% CI: 3.55-24.83)]. In addition, WW participants reduced waist circumference by 3.9 +/- 6.3 cm, while the NE group increased waist circumference by 0.6 +/- 5.5 cm. Conclusions: The WW program was associated with clinically significant weight loss, demonstrating its potential value as an intervention strategy, based in the community, for the treatment of obesity in China.