Effectiveness of a multidisciplinary program for the management of obesity: change in quality of life, clinical, physiological and anthropometric parameters

Introduction: Obesity is a disease that has become a major public health concern. The objective of this research was to analyze the changes in the quality of life and in clinical, physiological, and anthropometric parameters in patients with obesity, belonging to a multidisciplinary program for weight loss. Materials and methods: Observational retrospective cohort study that included obese patients in a multidisciplinary program. The comparison of quantitative variables at admission and discharge from the program was performed with the Wilcoxon signed rank test, while the qualitative variables were compared with the McNemar test. Statistical analysis was performed in the STATA V.15 program. Results: 323 patients were analyzed; it was shown that the median weight decreased 4.4 kg (p < 0.001). Adherence to physical activity increased from 30% (n = 97) to 90% (n = 289) (p < 0.001). Similarly, the median VO2 max increased from 23.6 (IQR 19.7-30.4) on admission to 32.9 (IQR 27.8-38) on discharge. Regarding quality of life, self-care was one of the dimensions with the greatest impact during the program, with a decrease in the report of extreme difficulties from 17.7% to 0.3%. Likewise, the visual analogue scale (VAS) increased the median from 50 (RIC 50-70) to 80 (RIC 70-90) (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The multidisciplinary approach to obesity offers a comprehensive approach to the patient, impacting not only physical, but also psychological and emotional aspects of the problem, improving her quality of life.