Predictors of attendance at an obesity clinic and subsequent weight change

• Published in: BMC health services research 2014-02, Vol.14 (1), p.78-78, Article 78
• Main Authors: Brook, Emma, Cohen, Lauren, Hakendorf, Paul, Wittert, Gary, Thompson, Campbell
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Australia - epidemiology; Body Mass Index; Cardiovascular disease; Clinics; Data analysis; Diabetes; Female; Females; Gastrointestinal surgery; Hospitals; Humans; Hypertension; Hypothyroidism; Ischemia; Male; Middle Aged; Obesity; Obesity - psychology; Obesity - therapy; Patient Compliance - psychology; Patient Compliance - statistics & numerical data; Patients; Questionnaires; Retrospective Studies; Sleep apnea; Standard deviation; Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; Treatment Outcome; Weight control; Weight Loss; Weight Reduction Programs - statistics & numerical data; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1472-6963; 1472-6963
• DOI: 10.1186/1472-6963-14-78

There is conflicting evidence regarding characteristics of patients most likely to have poor outcomes after referral to a multidisciplinary weight loss clinic. The aim of this study was to identify patient characteristics associated with poor attendance and poor weight outcomes at a weight management clinic based in an Australian tertiary hospital. Patient characteristics including age, sex, referral source, postcode of residence, weight, body mass index (BMI) and the presence of specific comorbidities were recorded. Outcome measures included questionnaire return following referral (a requirement prior to a first appointment being scheduled), percentage of appointments attended and rate of weight change (kg/month). Continuous variables were expressed as mean ± standard deviation and compared using a t-test. Categorical data were presented as proportions and a chi-squared test was used to test significance. Statistical significance was set as p