Efficacy and safety of clinically managed weight loss programs: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

BACKGROUND: Obesity has become a major driver in the burden of chronic diseases. The Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines recommend a lifestyle intervention for the management and prevention of obesity. This includes behavior modification, dietary counseling, and physical activity. With the market overwhelmed with weight loss programs, the majority are focused on low-calorie diets and general recommendations for exercise. Most are not personalized and are not administered by healthcare professionals. An interdisciplinary team of highly trained healthcare professionals has the ability to provide medically sound and safe advice in all aspects of an individuals’ life, such as lifestyle, sleep, mental health, and behaviors. A clinically managed weight loss program is defined as a team including a dietitian, exercise professional, psychologist, and/or physician or nurse practitioner oversight. With limiting results in the literature regarding clinically managed weight loss programs, it is difficult to conclude whether it may be effective. Therefore, the objective of this systematic review is to assess clinically managed weight loss programs, with a physician or nurse practitioner oversight in comparison with non-clinically managed weight loss programs with no physician oversight or nurse practitioner oversight in adults who are living with overweight or obesity. METHODS: A literature search will be executed by a knowledge synthesis librarian on MEDLINE, Cochrane Central, Embase, PsycINFO, and CINAHL. The data collected will be extracted, stored, and managed in MS Excel 2016. The extraction of the data will include study details, study population details, health team details, intervention details, and outcome details. DISCUSSION: The prevalence of obesity has been increasing throughout the decades. The results from this systematic review may aid in recommending a more clinically safe weight loss program for those who struggle with overweight or obesity. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42020170014 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13643-021-01750-1.