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Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig appear most effective for weight loss

Among commercial weight-loss programs, Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig result in the greatest sustained weight-loss, according to a recently published study.

“Primary care doctors need to know what programs have rigorous trials showing that they work, but they haven’t had much evidence to rely on. Our review should give clinicians a better idea of what programs they might consider for their patients,” Kimberly Gudzune, MD, MPH, of the division of general internal medicine at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine said in a press release.

Gudzune and colleagues reviewed 45 previous published studies, obtained from Medline and the Cochrane Database, which assessed different commercial and proprietary weight-loss programs. Randomized controlled trials that lasted at least 12 weeks and prospective case series of at least 12 months were included in the analysis. Weight-loss programs included: Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, Health Management Resources; Medifast, Optifast (Nestle Health Science), Atkins, The Biggest Loser Club (Universal Television LLC & Reveille LLC), eDiets, Lose It! (FitNow Inc.), and Slim Fast (Unilever).

Of leading market share programs, Weight Watchers participants achieved a 2.6% greater weight loss and Jenny Craig participants achieved a 4.9% greater weight loss at 12 months compared with participants assigned to control and education. At 3 months, Nutrisystem participants achieved a 3.8% greater weight loss than those assigned to control, education and counseling.

A 4% greater short-term weight loss was seen in participants of very low-calorie programs, (Health Management Resources, Medifast and Optifast), however beyond 6 months, some decrease in efficacy was reported. Among Atkins participants, weight loss ranged from a 0.1% to 2.9% greater weight loss compared with counseling at 12 months. Studies and trials evaluating Slimfast reported mixed results.

“We want people to experience the health benefits of weight loss — lower blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar, and lower risk of developing diseases like diabetes. Those benefits are long-term goals; losing weight for 3 month, then regaining it, has limited health benefits. That’s why it’s important to have studies that look at weight loss at 12 months and beyond,” Jeanne Clark, MD, MPH, director of the division of internal medicine at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said in a press release.

In an accompanying editorial, Christina C. Wee, MD, MPH, of the division of general medicine and primary care at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, noted that it is not surprising that programs that offer more structure and in-person support resulted in improved outcomes among overweight and obese participants, but that the weight-loss experienced was most likely less than they had anticipated.

“Whether patients value the modest weight-loss produced by these programs enough to absorb the financial cost and sustain behavioral change is also unclear. Future research should evaluate whether partnering physician counseling with these programs improves effectiveness.” Wee wrote. – by Casey Hower

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.