5 and 10 year follow up of the WRAP trial (WRAP Up)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluation of the medium to long term impact of commercial open-group behavioural weight loss programmes on body weight and diabetes risk in adults with overweight and obesity.
IRAS ID
235911
Contact name
Carolyn Read
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Cambridge, School of Clinical Medicine
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN82857232
Duration of Study in the UK
11 years, 3 months, 31 days
Research summary
Referral to commercial open-group behavioural weight loss programmes (such as Weight Watchers) can help people to lose weight and reduces risk factors for diseases including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers. Modelling of the long term impact of these programmes on illnesses and related treatment costs suggests that these programmes are likely to be cost-effective in the long term for adults who are overweight or obese. However, no trials of this type of intervention have measured outcomes beyond 2 years and uncertainty over the long-term impact of these programmes on body weight, diabetes, and other obesity-related conditions, limits the strength of evidence.
It is important to reduce these uncertainties and provide a more precise estimate of longer-term impact. The Weight Loss Referrals for Adults in Primary Care (WRAP) trial is one of only two trials of this type of programme that has measured weight at 2-year follow up and has measured diabetes-related outcomes. WRAP is also larger and has a considerably higher retention rate than the other trial at 2 years: 68% vs 26%. Evaluating the objective 5-year and 10-year outcomes for one of the largest studies of commercial open-group programmes will provide important data to reduce uncertainties about weight regain and diabetes incidence in the medium-term and will enable more realistic estimation of long-term impacts on disease incidence and associated resource use.
REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/WM/0432
Date of REC Opinion
28 Nov 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion