Randomised controlled trial of breast cancer and multiple disease prevention weight loss programmes vs written advice amongst women attending a breast cancer family history clinic

BackgroundOverweight and obesity are common amongst women attending breast cancer Family History, Risk and Prevention Clinics (FHRPCs). Overweight increases risk of breast cancer (BC) and conditions including(1) cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type-2 diabetes (T2D). Clinics provide written health behaviour advice with is likely to have minimal effects. We assessed efficacy of two remotely delivered weight loss programmes vs. written advice.Method210 women with overweight or obesity attending three UK FHRPCs were randomised to either a BC prevention programme (BCPP) framed to reduce risk of BC (n = 86), a multiple disease prevention programme (MDPP) framed to reduce risk of BC, CVD and T2D (n = 87), or written advice (n = 37). Change in weight and health behaviours were assessed at 12-months.ResultsWeight loss at 12 months was -6.3% (-8.2, -4.5) in BCPP, -6.0% (-7.9, -4.2) in MDPP and -3.3% (-6.2, -0.5) in the written group (p = 0.451 across groups). The percentage losing >= 10% weight in these groups were respectively 34%, 23% and 14% (p = 0.038 across groups).DiscussionBCPP and MDPP programmes resulted in more women achieving >= 10% weight loss, but no evidence of additional benefits of MDPP. A multicentre RCT to test the BCPP across UK FHRPCs is warranted.Clinical Trial Registration ISRCTN16431108.

Automated summary

This study compared the efficacy of two remotely delivered weight loss programs and written advice. The results showed that both weight loss programs resulted in more women achieving a weight loss of ≥10%, but there was no evidence of additional benefits from the multiple disease prevention program. Therefore, a multicenter RCT is warranted to test the weight loss program across breast cancer Family History, Risk and Prevention Clinics in the UK.