Effectiveness of nurse-led intervention on weight reduction among adults in urban Puducherry - A randomized controlled pilot trial.

Background: The recent spike in the incidence of type 2 diabetes is most likely caused by the obvious rise in the prevalence of overweight and obesity. The risk of developing noncommunicable illnesses can be prevented and reduced with even modest weight loss. This study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the effectiveness of a nurse-led intervention (NLI) strategy on weight reduction among adults in urban Puducherry.

Materials and methods: A two-arm, parallel-group, randomized controlled study with an open label was conducted with obese adults in urban areas of Puducherry, namely Nesavalar colony and Govindanpet, from November 2022 to February 2023. Totally, 88 obese adults were randomized using a simple random sampling method to either the NLI arm or the general care (GC) arm. WHO STEPS (version 3.2) questionnaire was adopted to gather baseline and end line data. NLI arm participants received NLI and GC arm participants received GC from urban primary health center. In statistical analysis, the proportion was used to summarize categorical variables. The parametric and nonparametric tests were applied based on the variable type and normality of the data. Multiple linear regressions were used with outcome changes in weight in the NLI arm.

Results: At 16 weeks, the NLI arm lost a mean weight of - 2.58 kg and the GC arm gained 0.38 kg with a mean difference in weight of 2.96 between arms. A significant reduction was found (P < 0.001) in weight, waist circumference, body mass index, and also found significant improvement in cholesterol profile and thyroid stimulating hormone.

Conclusion: This community-based NLI study is effective for weight reduction in urban Puducherry and it lowers the risk of developing noncommunicable diseases among adults. Due to the larger size of the geographical area and the more number of clusters, a stringent follow-up plan and extra manpower must be created for the main study.