Research

Adherence

High-intensity behavioral weight-loss counseling delivered by non-physician personnel (e.g., dietitians, coaches) with monitoring by a primary-care physician produces clinically significant weight loss.

To achieve clinically significant weight loss (more than 5% of body weight), seek a program where a dietitian or health coach provides frequent, high-intensity counseling, while your primary-care doctor monitors your progress. This combination was found to be more effective than having the doctor deliver the counseling alone.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
High-intensity weight-loss counselling delivered by non-physicians, meal replacements delivered in conjunction with dietitian counselling and referral to commercial weight-loss centre programmes accompanied by regular monitoring by a primary-care physician were effective in producing clinically significant weight loss.
Sze Lin Yoong et al. · Public Health Nutrition · 2012

Why this rating

Based on a systematic review of multiple studies, though some had methodological limitations.

Source

A systematic review of behavioural weight-loss interventions involving primary-care physicians in overweight and obese primary-care patients (1999–2011)

Sze Lin Yoong et al. · Public Health Nutrition · 2012

DOI 10.1017/s1368980012004375

systematic_reviewCited 31×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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