Readers know of my fondness for the Weight Watchers program, and that I highly recommend it. Now I have another reason to do so.USA Today reports, “Dieters lose twice as much weight when they go to Weight Watchers than they do when they get diet advice from professionals in their doctors’ offices,” according to a study published in The Lancet.
“People in three countries who followed Weight Watchers lost an average of 15 pounds in a year, while dieters who got guidance from nurses and physicians lost only seven.”
Bloomberg News explains, “The study, funded by New York-based Weight Watchers and conducted independently by the UK’s Medical Research Council, also showed those enrolled in the commercial program continued to lose weight longer after the end of the test.”
“Significant differences, all favoring the Weight Watchers group in the unblinded 772-patient trial, were also seen in levels of fasting insulin and glucose, and the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol,” MedPage Today notes.
HealthDay points out, “The study involved 772 overweight and obese adults who were randomly assigned to a year of diet care overseen by a primary care professional or to 12 months’ free membership at a local Weight Watchers group.”
Notably, “fifty-four percent of the standard-care dieters completed the 12-month study, compared to 61 percent of the Weight Watchers group.”
What’s more, “the Weight Watchers participants were more than three times as likely to have dropped five percent or more of their body weight compared to the standard dieters, said the researchers.”