Patients more likely to shed weight if advice offered in ‘optimistic’ tone: Study

The tone of your doctor can have a major impact on your decisions regarding pursuing weight-loss programmes, a new research has found.

Researchers at the University of Oxford conducted a study by analysing encounters between doctors and patients at 38 GP surgeries in England.

They concluded that patients who received advice in an optimistic tone were more likely to subscribe to weight-loss programmes than those who were told about the consequences of obesity.

Methodology

Researchers listened to conversations between doctors and patients regarding a free 12-week weight-loss programme.

They categorised the conversations into three broad categories.

The first one was the “good news” approach, where patients were presented with the weight-loss programme as an opportunity or good news. The conversation revolved around the benefits of weight loss. Also, there was very little mention of negative words like obesity, body mass index, or weight as a problem.

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The second was the “bad news approach”, where patients were told about the consequences of obesity. The tone reflected regret and pessimism.

Then there was a third approach termed “neutral,” where no special emphasis was placed on good or bad words. The conversation happened in “news delivery” style, the most commonly observed between doctors and patients.

Results

The study revealed that patients who underwent the "positive news" counselling approach experienced the most weight loss within a year.

Individuals in the "positive news" category, on average, shed 4.8kg, while those in the "negative news" group lost 2.7kg, and participants in the "neutral news" group showed a 1.2kg reduction in weight.

The increased weight loss in the "positive news" group was largely attributed to a higher enrollment rate in the 12-week weight loss programme. Approximately 87 per cent of individuals in this group signed up for the programme, in contrast to less than half in the other groups.

Dr Charlotte Albury, lead author and researcher within the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford, said: “What we found was that when doctors framed the conversation as ‘good news’ – emphasising the benefits and opportunities of weight loss in a positive manner – patients were more likely to enroll in a weight-loss programme, attend more sessions, and, importantly, lose more weight compared to a neutral or negative framing.”

(With inputs from agencies)