Health-Related quality of life in obese adults following a one year lifestyle intervention in Norwegian primary health care

Martha Loland, fysioterapeut og M.Sc. Fysio- og ergoterapitjenesten/ Frisklivssentralen, Stavanger kommune. Email: mloland@stavanger.kommune.no 

Sindre M. Dyrstad, førsteamanuensis, Dr.scient. Institutt for grunnskolelærerutdanning, idrett og spesialpedagogikk, Universitetet i Stavanger

Abstract

Background:  The Norwegian health Services encourages all its municipalities to establish life style interventions for obese people in primary health care. The aim of the study was to investigate changes in health-related quality of life through a one-year life style intervention in Norwegian primary health care for obese and inactive people.

Methods: The study included 26 participants in the intervention group and 13 in the control group, mean age were 47,1±9,0 years. Health-related quality of life, measured by Short Form-36 (SF-36), was along with body weight measured at baseline and after six and 12 months. The first six months of the intervention consisted of three weekly training sessions and one weekly educational lesson. The following six months consisted of one weekly training session. Participants were also offered individual motivational counselling during the intervention period. The control group got ordinary follow-up by their RPG.

Results: After the first six months the intervention group reported significant and clinical meaningful improvements in seven out of eight subscales of the SF-36 (p<0.05). After 12 months there were significant improvements in five of the subscales, and a 5% reduction in body weight (p<0,05). In the control group there was only significant improvement in one subscale after six months.

Conclusion: The intervention group experienced large improvement in health-related quality of life, even with a limited weight reduction. These are important findings, since health-related quality of life has been shown to predict the use of health services and mortality.

Key words: lifestyle intervention, obesity, health-related quality of life.

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