Obesity Abstracts

Introduction: Inadequate access to obesity treatment is a major public health challenge in the UK. Integrating NICE-assessed digital providers with NHS pathways offers significant potential to increase access, but requires further evidence. We evaluated the 6-month (6m) weight, cardiometabolic, and psychological outcomes of the digital arm of a novel, integrated NHS complex obesity service in the East of England.

Method: The digital service (Roczen) provided specialist weight management support, including psychological assessments and personalised incretin mimetic management. We evaluated patients completing 6m (n =58). The cohort had a mean age of 54.2±12.2 years and baseline BMI of 47.4±9.1 kg/m², with a significant co-morbidity burden including hypertension (48.3%), osteoarthritis (44.8%), pre-diabetes (27.6%), and Type 2 diabetes (6.9%). 55.2% were prescribed semaglutide, 41.4% tirzepatide, and 3.4% were not on medication. Data at 25 weeks was analysed using mean±standard deviation, with a paired test of change versus zero applied for p-value calculation where paired data was available.

Results: At 6m, mean weight loss was 14.5±8.7 kg (11.2±5.6%, n = 58, P <0.001), with 87.9% achieving ≥5% loss, 53.4% achieving ≥10%, 22.4% achieving ≥15%, and 6.9% achieving ≥20%. Cardiometabolic health improved, with significant reductions in waist circumference (13.2±6.8cm, n = 48, P <0.001), systolic BP (9.9±12.3mmHg, n = 40, P <0.001), and diastolic BP (6.4±10.0mmHg, n = 40, P <0.001). Psychological wellbeing also improved, with significant reductions in PHQ-4 depression/anxiety scores (-2.4±3.1, n = 36, P <0.001) and binge eating scores (BES: -6.92±9.51, n = 37, P <0.001). No statistically significant differences were observed in outcomes between patient groups from areas of higher versus lower socioeconomic deprivation (Index of Multiple Deprivation 1-5 vs 6-10).

Conclusion: This evaluation provides the first real-world evidence that an integrated NHS-digital model for specialist obesity care delivers significant weight loss alongside substantial cardiometabolic and psychological improvements. Findings support wider adoption of such pathways to increase capacity and access to effective specialist care, demonstrating equitable outcomes between higher and lower deprivation groups.