Adherence
Implementing a structured, EHR-driven care process (PATHWEIGH) in primary care mitigates population-level weight gain and increases the likelihood of patients receiving weight-related care, even among those who do not receive direct clinical intervention.
If you are a healthcare system, stop waiting for patients to ask for help. Use your electronic health records to flag patients with high BMI and prompt doctors to discuss weight. Educate your staff that obesity is a chronic disease, not a lifestyle failure. This simple process change can help patients lose weight even if they never see a specialist.
PATHWEIGH mitigated population weight gain by 0.58 kg over 18 months and changed the trajectory from weight gain to weight loss... PATHWEIGH increased the likelihood of a patient receiving weight-related care by 23% during the intervention... PATHWEIGH was associated with greater weight loss and also mitigated the expected weight gain for those who did not receive discernable weight-related care.
Why this rating
Stepped-wedge cluster-randomized trial with a large sample size (n=274,182) and pragmatic design.
Source
Implementation and effectiveness of a care process to prioritize weight management in primary care: a stepped-wedge cluster-randomized trial
Leigh Perreault et al. · Nature Medicine · 2025
DOI 10.1038/s41591-025-04051-5
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This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →