Obesity Abstracts

Background: The effects of weight loss interventions on physical health are well-described, yet their impact on mental health is unclear. Improved understanding of the impact of weight management interventions on mental health may improve care and minimise risk of harm. We aim to synthesise the evidence concerning the effects of adult behavioural weight management interventions, compared to inactive or standard care control groups, on mental health in adults with overweight or obesity. The primary objective of the systematic review is to quantify the effect of behavioural weight management interventions on mental health in adults with overweight and obesity. The secondary objective is to quantify if particular intervention or participant characteristics influence the effect of interventions on mental health.

Methods: We searched the following databases from inception to 07/05/2019: MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane (CENTRAL), PsycINFO, ASSIA, AMED, and CINAHL. The search strategy was based on four concepts: (1) Adults with overweight/obesity, (2) Weight management interventions, (3) Mental health outcomes, and (4) Study design. The only restriction was to English-language publications. We included evaluations of behavioural weight-management interventions aiming to achieve weight loss through changes in diet and/or physical activity in community-dwelling adults with a body mass index ≥25 kg/m². Studies with an inactive or ‘standard-care’ control group were included. Randomised controlled trials (RCT) and cluster RCTs were the only eligible study designs. Outcomes of interest are: Quality of life; Mood/Affect; Stress; Self-esteem; Body image; Emotional eating; Binge eating; Depression; Anxiety.

Two stage eligibility screening, data extraction and risk of bias assessment are being completed independently by a minimum of two investigators. Data permitting, a random-effects meta-analysis, sub-group analyses and meta-regression will be conducted. Sub-group analyses will compare population characteristics, intervention type, intervention duration, intervention delivery format and comparator type. Risk of bias in the included studies will be assessed using the Cochrane ‘Risk of bias’ tool. If meta-analysis is deemed inappropriate, narrative synthesis, ‘levels of evidence’ assessment and harvest plots will be used. Ethical approval is not required as primary data will not be collected.

Keywords: Obesity, mental health, systematic review

Disclosures: None.