Take up for weight management programmes that obese patients have to pay for is low, suggesting that it “devalues the referral”, according to a study published today (25 February 2020).

Although there is evidence that GP referrals to community weight loss programmes are effective, funding has been removed in some parts of the UK, which has left GPs with no referral options.

For this study, which is published in the BJGP researchers at Oxford University asked GPs to offer referrals to a weight loss programme that required the patients to pay for the service themselves. Sixty patients with a BMI of over 30 were recruited and the cost of the programme was framed either as an absolute cost – about £5 or £6 per week or as about the same amount as a couple of cups of takeaway coffee per week.

About half accepted the referral offer and there was no difference between the two ways in which the costs were framed, but only one person out of 28 participants accepting the offer attended the programme. This compares to about 40% who attended in a previous study of an NHS-funded weight loss programme.

The study authors say they advocate large-scale public weight-loss programmes to maximise the opportunities for GP interventions to treat obesity.

Professor Paul Aveyard professor of behavioural medicine, at Oxford University said: “We know that NHS-funded weight management programmes save money for the NHS in the long-run by reducing the risk of diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

“When doctors offer a referral to patients on the NHS, it shows patients that their doctor thinks this is important and people agree to referral and attend and lose weight. Asking patients to pay for themselves devalues the referral and uptake of support is very low.”