Minimal intervention programs for weight loss in heart transplant candidates: a preliminary examination

Overweight can be a contraindication for cardiac transplantation, and empirical findings suggest that obesity may pose serious posttransplant health risks that can increase morbidity and mortality.

This study assessed the relative effectiveness of 2 minimal intervention programs to assist weight loss in heart transplant candidates.

A randomized trial was employed to assess changes in body weight.

A large, tertiary care hospital in a Southern locale.

Forty-three heart transplant candidates (74% men, 79% married, 86% white), with a mean pretreatment body mass index of 32.4 (SD = 4.4).

Patients were randomly assigned to a bibliotherapy weight-loss program or a bibliotherapy plus telephone contact weight-loss program.

Change in body weight over 3 months and return rate of measures of program adherence (3-day food diaries and self-monitoring postcards).

An intent-to-treat analysis showed a significant weight loss at posttreatment for the sample as a whole. Within-group analyses indicated that a significant weight change (P < .05) in the telephone contact group (mean [SD] = -2.76 [4.96] kg) but not the bibliotherapy-only group (mean [SD] = -1.02 [2.97] kg). Participants in the telephone contact group returned more 3-day food diaries and self-monitoring postcards, with pounds lost significantly correlated with the number of completed self-monitoring postcards. These findings suggest that a minimal intervention program involving information plus limited professional contact may represent a viable approach to assisting overweight transplant candidates in weight management.