A £4 million University of East Anglia (UEA) study will examine whether specialist community-based NHS support hubs could help patients maintain benefits from obesity treatments.
Experts warn that thousands of people who have weight-loss surgery or weight-loss injections like Wegovy and Mounjaro may struggle without ongoing support.
Funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the six-year programme will develop and test a new community-based approach to long-term obesity care.
It is hoped that the new community-based hubs will help patients maintain weight loss, improve long-term health and reduce the risk of serious complications.
Lead researcher Dr Helen Parretti, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “Obesity affects almost one in three adults, while obesity-related illness is estimated to cost the NHS £6.5 billion every year.
“Current guidelines recommend annual reviews for people who have undergone bariatric surgery, but our previous work suggests that many are not receiving them.
“And we know that those who miss out on ongoing support can experience worse outcomes.
“Weekly injectable obesity management medications have surged in popularity with more than two million people in the UK now using them.
“But people who have these treatments can regain weight, have mental health problems or develop nutritional deficiencies, all of which can impact their health – if they do not receive long-term follow-up care.”
The issue has been compounded by the recent boom in private obesity treatments, with concerns over what support patients receive once procedures or prescriptions have been delivered.
Adding to the challenge, many GPs report lacking confidence in caring for patients who have received weight-loss surgery or obesity medications.
“What we are proposing is a new model of care, centred on community-based support clinics,” said Dr Parretti.
“These hubs would be run by specially trained primary care professionals, backed by specialist weight-management teams.
“Patients will receive regular reviews, monitoring of blood tests, nutritional checks and personalised self-care support,” she added.
The new project will first work with patients, clinicians and NHS service commissioners to design the hub before testing it in the real world with a large clinical trial involving almost 1,000 patients across 94 GP surgeries across the country.
The team will compare outcomes for patients referred to a hub against those receiving standard care.
The main measure of success will be whether patients are better able to maintain their weight loss after 12 months. Researchers will also assess wellbeing, nutritional health, physical function, healthcare use and participation in work.
They will also investigate the experiences of people who have received private obesity treatments and examine whether the hub model offers good value for taxpayers.
Dr Parretti said: “We hope our work could pave the way for a national rollout across England, creating a dedicated support network for the growing number of people being treated with modern obesity treatments.”
This programme of research is being hosted by the Norfolk and Suffolk Integrated Care Board – where Dr Clara Yates is Associate Director of Research and Innovation.
She said: “We are delighted to be a partner in this important NIHR-funded research programme, which strongly aligns with the ambitions behind the £8 million Obesity Pathway Innovation Programme (OPIP) award for Norfolk, Suffolk and north east Essex.
“Through OPIP, we are expanding access to integrated weight management and complex obesity services, including community-based hubs, digital innovation and earlier support for people at greatest risk.
“This NIHR research will help build the evidence for how community-based follow-up care can support people to maintain the benefits of obesity treatment over the longer term.
“Together, these programmes reflect a shared commitment to prevention, reducing health inequalities and developing more joined-up care closer to people’s homes and communities.
“By combining service transformation with high-quality research, Norfolk and Suffolk can help shape a model of obesity care that improves outcomes and informs practice nationally.”
Prof Olivia Wu, NIHR Programme Director of Programme Grants for Applied Research, added: “Weight-loss surgery and injections can be life-changing for people living with obesity, but they need to be backed by ongoing care, so people can maintain their weight loss and stay healthier for longer.
“By funding research like this, the NIHR is building the evidence needed to improve healthcare provision for patients while supporting the government’s 10-Year Health Plan to shift care from hospital to community and from sickness to prevention.”
This project will be led by UEA in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, the University of Birmingham, the University of Bristol, the University of Sheffield, Leeds Beckett University, Norfolk and Suffolk Integrated Care Board and patient representatives with lived experience of obesity treatment.