Effect of the nutritional program " Lose weight, gain life" in a primary care clinic

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the effect of the nutritional program “Lose weight, gain life” in a primary care clinic in southern Tamaulipas, Mexico.

Material and methods: Observational, descriptive, retrospective, comparative and correlational study. Using a sample of 372 patients, who were evaluated at the beginning and at the end of the program six months later. For this purpose, weight and waist circumference were recorded, as well as some biochemical parameters such as glucose, triglycerides and total cholesterol. Non-parametric mean difference tests were estimated, as well as a logistic regression model to identify the effect of the program on the selected indicators.

Results: 74.2% of the sample were women and 25.8% were men, the mean age was 50 years (±12.9), 40.1% had arterial hypertension, 39.5% had dyslipidemia (Dl), and 30.1% had type 2 diabetes mellitus. After having participated in the program, patients on average lost 2.36 kg (±1.7) of weight with 0.93 kg/m2 (±.7) of body mass index, as well as a loss of 2.16 cm in waist circumference, all indicators showed improvement and were statistically different among them. The logistic regression model indicates that attendance to the program sessions contributes to increase the probability of improvement in the variables analyzed.

Conclusions: The program “Lose weight, gain life” implemented at the first level of care had a successful intervention to address the problem of overweight and obesity in the patients studied.

Key words: Obesity; Intervention; Education; Nutrition.