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Clinical Research

Physical activity and weight loss in a pragmatic weight loss trial

International Journal of Obesity volume 47, pages 244–248 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the association between changes in physical activity and changes in body weight in a cluster-randomized weight loss trial conducted in an underserved population in Louisiana. This study reports analyses conducted in the intervention group only, which was a 24-month multi-component weight loss program delivered by health coaches embedded in primary care clinics. Physical activity was assessed at baseline and at 6, 12, and 24 months of follow-up and changes in body weight were expressed as percent weight change from baseline. Among the sample of 402 patients, percent changes in body weight (mean ± SE) across increasing tertiles of changes in walking between baseline and 24 months were −3.2 ± 1.0%, −5.5 ± 0.9%, and −7.3 ± 0.9%, respectively (p = 0.001). Changes in body weight across increasing tertiles of changes in moderate-to-vigorous-intensity activity between baseline and 24 months were −4.3 ± 1.0%, −5.0 ± 0.9%, and −7.0 ± 0.9%, respectively (p = 0.04). In conclusion, this multi-component intervention resulted in clinically significant weight loss, and greater increases in physical activity over the intervention period were associated with greater percent reductions in body weight. These results are consistent with those from other studies conducted primarily in non-underserved populations.

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Fig. 1: Weight change from baseline in men and women across tertiles of change in daily walking.

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Data availability

The data generated and/or analyzed during the study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

Supported by an award (OB-1402–10977) from PCORI, by a grant (U54 GM104940) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, which funds the Louisiana Clinical and Translational Science Center, and by a grant (“Nutrition and Metabolic Health through the Lifespan” [P30DK072476]) from the Nutrition and Obesity Research Center, sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Peter T. Katzmarzyk, Emily F. Mire, Corby K. Martin, Robert L. Newton, John W. Apolzan, Kara D. Denstel, William D. Johnson, Phillip Brantley & Ronald Horswell

  2. Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center at New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Benjamin F. Springgate

  3. Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center at Shreveport, Shreveport, LA, USA

    Terry C. Davis & Connie L. Arnold

  4. Ochsner Health System, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Eboni Price-Haywood & Carl J. Lavie

  5. Tulane University Medical School, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Vivian A. Fonseca, Tina K. Thethi & Jonathan Gugel

  6. Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Kathleen B. Kennedy & Daniel F. Sarpong

Authors
  1. Peter T. Katzmarzyk
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  2. Emily F. Mire
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  3. Corby K. Martin
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  4. Robert L. Newton
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  5. John W. Apolzan
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  6. Kara D. Denstel
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  7. William D. Johnson
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Consortia

The PROPEL Research Group

  • Peter T. Katzmarzyk
  • , Emily F. Mire
  • , Corby K. Martin
  • , Robert L. Newton
  • , John W. Apolzan
  • , Kara D. Denstel
  • , William D. Johnson
  • , Phillip Brantley
  • , Ronald Horswell
  • , Benjamin F. Springgate
  • , Terry C. Davis
  • , Connie L. Arnold
  • , Eboni Price-Haywood
  • , Carl J. Lavie
  • , Vivian A. Fonseca
  • , Tina K. Thethi
  • , Jonathan Gugel
  • , Kathleen B. Kennedy
  •  & Daniel F. Sarpong

Contributions

PTK was responsible for conceiving the study, acquiring funding, managing the study, drafting the manuscript, and revising the manuscript after feedback from other authors. CKM, RLN, JWA, and KD were responsible for managing the study and providing critical feedback on the manuscript. EFM managed all data related to the trial and provided critical feedback on the manuscript. WDJ designed and performed all data analyses and provided critical feedback on the manuscript. All authors reviewed and approved the paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter T. Katzmarzyk.

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Competing interests

The intellectual property surrounding the mathematical code that creates the weight graph used in this study is owned by Louisiana State University/Pennington Biomedical and Montclair State University. CKM is an inventor of the IP, which is included in a US and European patent application. The code has also been licensed and Louisiana State University/Pennington Biomedical, Montclair State University, and CKM have received royalties. The other authors declare no competing interests.

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Katzmarzyk, P.T., Mire, E.F., Martin, C.K. et al. Physical activity and weight loss in a pragmatic weight loss trial. Int J Obes 47, 244–248 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-023-01260-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-023-01260-1

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