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. 2021 Apr 23;13(5):1425.
doi: 10.3390/nu13051425.

Improvement in Eating Disorder Risk and Psychological Health in People with Class 3 Obesity: Effects of a Multidisciplinary Weight Management Program

Milan K Piya  1   2   3 , Ritesh Chimoriya  1 , William Yu  2 , Kathy Grudzinskas  2 , Kyaw Phone Myint  1 , Kathryn Skelsey  2 , Nic Kormas  2 , Phillipa Hay  1   2   3
Affiliations

Improvement in Eating Disorder Risk and Psychological Health in People with Class 3 Obesity: Effects of a Multidisciplinary Weight Management Program

Milan K Piya et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the risk of eating disorders, psychological distress, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in people with class 3 obesity (body mass index (BMI) ≥ 40 kg/m2), and the effect of multidisciplinary weight management over 12 months. This retrospective cohort study included all adults with class 3 obesity who enrolled in a weight management program from March 2018 to December 2019. Questionnaires included the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire Short (EDE-QS), Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), and 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) for HRQoL. Physical and Mental Component Summary scores (PCS and MCS) were derived from the SF-36. Of 169 participants who completed 12 months in the program, 65.7% (n = 111) completed questionnaires at baseline and 12 months, with 6.0 ± 6.8% weight loss over this period. Compared to baseline, there was significant improvement at 12 months in EDE-QS (15.7 ± 6.6 vs. 13.6 ± 6.2, p = 0.002), K10 (25.7 ± 9.7 vs. 21.2 ± 9.4, p < 0.001), PCS (29.4 ± 10.1 vs. 36.1 ± 10.9, p < 0.001), and MCS scores (40.2 ± 12.4 vs. 44.0 ± 13.4, p = 0.001). All, apart from EDE-QS scores, remained significant after adjusting for weight change. This study highlights the importance of multidisciplinary management in people with class 3 obesity to help reduce eating disorder risk and psychological distress, and improve HRQoL, in addition to weight loss.

Keywords: class 3 obesity; eating disorders; health-related quality of life; psychological distress; weight management.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. M.K.P. and P.H. are Guest Editors on the Special Issue “Eating and Weight Disorders” of Nutrients journal but did not play any role in the peer-review and decision-making process for this manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Entry of patients at baseline and loss to follow-up at 12 months.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Scatter plots of change in: (a) Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire Short (EDE-QS) score; (b) Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) score; (c) Physical Component Summary (PCS) score; and (d) Mental Component Summary (MCS) score, against change in weight (kg) with fitted linear regression lines.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) scores and level of psychological distress at baseline and 12 months.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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