Application of Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population by Teleconsultation in Obesity in Primary Care

Obesity is a chronic disease that is highly prevalent in Brazil. It is associated with diabetes and hypertension. Obesity may decrease quality of life. Communication tools, such as mobile devices and social media, are helping to control and prevent obesity. In this 2-arm randomized clinical trial, the investigators aim to evaluate the efficacy of the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population through 8 weekly video nutritional monitoring sessions with nutritionists. Both groups will receive guidance from reference professionals from primary health care (physician and nurse). Throughout the intervention program, both groups will be equally evaluated in order to verify at the end of the study effectiveness in weight loss and life quality improvement.

Obesity is a multifactorial disease of epidemic proportions worldwide. The use of telecommunication tools has been used in health and nutrition in different contexts, seeking to reduce the burden of non-communicable chronic diseases. Telehealth interventions are effective to increase quality of life and to improve the dietary food intake of participants; this kind of treatment seems feasable, cost-effective and has promising results to induce weight loss in obese individuals. This project will evaluate the impact of a remote nutritional intervention in short (8 weeks) and long term (24 and 48 weeks) on the weight fo obese individuals. The intervention will be based on the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population. It will focus on primary care patients and will have a multidisciplinary approach. It is an open-label pragmatic multicentre randomized controlled trial, with an 1:1 allocation: (1) intervention group (n = 289): Remote consultation with nutritionists based on the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population; (2) control group (n = 289): usual follow-up in Primary Health Care (PHC). The primary outcome will be weight change at 8 weeks. Additionally, the investigators will evaluate food consumption and quality of life at 8 and 24 weeks as secondary outcomes.