Article

Obese patients require sustained lifestyle changes to reduce their
health risks. We therefore developed a combined planning and telephone aftercare
intervention based on the Health Action Process Approach to enhance physical
activity after inpatient rehabilitation for obesity. DESIGN: Randomized
controlled trial. PATIENTS: A total of 467 obesity rehabilitation patients (55%
male; mean age 48 years). METHODS: Participants were randomized to receive
standard obesity rehabilitation or standard obesity rehabilitation plus the new
intervention. Participants in the intervention condition planned individual
physical activities they intended to perform after discharge and were followed up
by 6 phone calls for 6 months. Physical activity and body weight were assessed
after 6 and 12 months. RESULTS: The intervention was well accepted by
participants. After 12 months, effects on physical activity, but not body weight,
were found. At this point, the duration of physical activity per week was 58 min
longer in the intervention group than in the control group. However, body weight
was reduced to similar degrees in both groups. CONCLUSION: The intervention
increased physical activity, but did not reduce body weight, compared with
standard care. However, even without weight reduction, an increase in physical
activity may reduce health risks in obese patients.

Langue : ANGLAIS