Summary:
In primary care patients with overweight or obesity, peer coaching as a low- to moderate-intensity intervention moderately increased early weight loss and engagement in weight management programs compared to enhanced usual care (educational material only), though it was associated with non-significant differences in overall weight loss at 12 months.
| PICO | Description |
|---|---|
| Population | Adult veterans (mean age 50.6 years; 78.6% male) with a BMI ≥25 receiving care at a VA primary care site. |
| Intervention | Peer coaching program involving one in-person session, up to 12 phone calls, and use of a tablet-based goal-setting tool over 12 months. |
| Comparison | Enhanced usual care (EUC), which included distribution of health education materials without peer support. |
| Outcome | At 12 months, the mean adjusted weight change was −2.51 kg (peer coaching) vs −0.79 kg (EUC); this difference was not statistically significant (P = .05). However, at 6 months, a higher proportion of patients in the peer coaching group lost ≥5% body weight (16.7% vs 5.5%, P = .03) and participated in weight management programs (28.7% vs 13.3%, P = .02). |
Source: Wittleder, Sandra, et al. “Peer Coaching to Support Weight Management in Primary Care: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial.” Read article here.
