Remote vs In Person Weight Loss Study

The COVID-19 pandemic has created fear, financial difficulties and interruptions in the lives of patients and healthcare providers. As a result, many patients suffering from chronic conditions such as obesity have had their treatment disrupted by the pandemic. The Bariatric Medical Weight Management Clinic at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton transitioned its behaviour modification program, also known as weight loss and maintenance counselling classes, to a remote (online) platform in response to the pandemic. The remote weight loss and maintenance classes allow patients to continue receiving treatment for obesity from their homes. This is a 26-week, single-centre, mixed retrospective and prospective, observational study evaluating the efficacy of counselling in a remote setting compared to an in-person setting in achieving weight loss among adult patients with obesity enrolled in the behaviour modification program. This study also aims to gather feedback about the program to improve its delivery and patients' experiences. Approximately 120 patients participating in the behaviour modification program and providing informed consent will be observed in this study. This study involves a prospective and retrospective component. The prospective component will be an observational study of 60 subjects who will receive 26-weeks of weight loss and maintenance counselling in a remote setting and a low-calorie meal replacement as part of their usual care. The retrospective component will involve using historical data from 60 subjects who received 26-weeks of weight loss and maintenance counselling in an in-person setting and a low-calorie meal replacement as part of their usual care. Parameters measured as part of standard of care at the start and end of the program, such as body weight, blood pressure and lab tests will be collected for analysis of study endpoints. Participants will also be asked to complete a satisfaction survey at the end. There will be no blinding of patients, study investigators, or data analysts.