Obesity Pathway Intervention Among Overweight and Obese Adults at Primary Care Centers in Hail, Saudi Arabia

Leadership and a multisectoral approach are the cornerstones in tackling the prevention of non-communicable diseases in Saudi Arabia. A focus should be on physical inactivity, tobacco, and unhealthy diet using effective and cost-effective interventions.

The last updated clinical practice guideline for the non-pharmacological management of overweight and obese Saudi adults strongly suggests lifestyle intervention rather than usual care alone, individualized counselling interventions rather than a generic educational pamphlet, physical activity rather than no physical activity, and physical activity in addition to diet rather than diet alone.

Many countries had implemented taxes on unprocessed sugar or sugar-added foods for reducing their consumption and preventing obesity and other adverse health events. however, no concrete evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention on the ground.

Mobile intervention technologies like pedometers or accelerometers with displays, activity trackers, smartphones, or tablets have a great effect in supporting sustainable health behaviour, increasing physical activity, and preventing the risk of chronic disease.

Research Questions:

1. To what extent does the obesity pathway intervention among overweight and obese adults implemented at primary health care clinics effective in achieving weight reduction?
2. To what extent does individualize nurse counselling such as dietary education and physical activity intervention among overweight and obese adults implemented at primary health care clinics effective in achieving a positive lifestyle change?

General objective:

To estimate the effectiveness of the obesity pathway intervention (individualized nurse counselling: dietary education and physical activity) at primary health care clinic in achieving weight reduction and positive lifestyle changes among overweight and obese adults.

Specific Objectives:

Aim 1: To compare the proportion of weight reduction among overweight and obese adults in the intervention versus the control group (routine care) at the Primary Health Care Clinic.

Aim 2: To compare the change in lifestyle among overweight and obese adults in the intervention versus the control group at the primary health care clinic.

Literature Review:

Planning an established clinic-based weight reduction program requires paying attention to different barriers to the retention of patients in the program.

Research Design and Methods:

This is a six months clustered randomized trial that will recruit adults who are obese and overweight to attend a primary health care clinic in Hail city.

Participants (P):

The participants will be adults who are obese and overweight of both genders attending the selected health centres. The participants are expected to be adults aged 18 years and above. Children and young adults will be excluded. In addition, severely ill patients, and patients with mental disorders will be excluded. The participants will be assessed at the start to collect the baseline data about Body Mass Index (BMI) to report eligible participants. At the end of the trial, a similar report on BMI will be obtained for each participant at three and six months after the beginning of the trial. A qualitative assessment report on lifestyle changes i.e. dietary habits and physical activities will also be obtained.