Coaches can help athletes score touchdowns and perfect their golf swing,
but can they also influence weight loss? Researchers from The Miriam
Hospital's Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center say health
coaches could play an important role in the battle of the bulge,
according to the findings of a pilot study published online in the
journal Obesity.
In the first study of its kind, obese individuals participating in a
low-intensity behavioral weight loss program who were supported by
either a professional health coach or a peer coach lost clinically
significant amounts of weight (at least 5 percent of their initial body weight).
These weight losses are comparable to the amount of weight lost by
patients participating in a more intensive behavioral intervention with
twice as many treatment sessions. Read more
but can they also influence weight loss? Researchers from The Miriam
Hospital's Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center say health
coaches could play an important role in the battle of the bulge,
according to the findings of a pilot study published online in the
journal Obesity.
In the first study of its kind, obese individuals participating in a
low-intensity behavioral weight loss program who were supported by
either a professional health coach or a peer coach lost clinically
significant amounts of weight (at least 5 percent of their initial body weight).
These weight losses are comparable to the amount of weight lost by
patients participating in a more intensive behavioral intervention with
twice as many treatment sessions. Read more
