SMART goals setting and biometric changes in obese adults with multimorbidity: Secondary analysis of a randomized...

Clinicians recommend diet and exercise for overweight/obese patients. We conducted a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled clinical trial evaluating goal setting and pedometer use versus usual care on weight, waist circumference, and blood pressure of patients with multiple chronic conditions.

In this trial, we recruited and randomized patients over 18 years with multiple chronic conditions. There were two groups with an immediate intervention group who received behavioral coaching and a pedometer versus a delayed control who received the intervention after 2 months. We evaluated body weight, waist circumference, and blood pressure as outcomes. We used analysis of covariance to evaluate differences between the intervention and the control groups.

Of 130 patients, mean age was 63.4 years (SD, 17.3). At 2 months, intervention participants lost 0.2 kg versus a 0.1-kg gain in the control participants (P = .44). The immediate intervention group had significantly smaller waist circumference change at 2-month follow-up compared to control at -1.6 cm (95% confidence interval = -3.1 to -0.1), which was driven by an increase in waist circumference in the delayed control group. No difference in systolic blood pressure was observed.

We observed no difference in weight or blood pressure between the groups with obesity and multiple chronic conditions.