The Impact of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Weight Loss and Body Composition in Subjects with Overweight and Obesity Participating in a Nationwide Weight-Loss Program: Impact of a Remote Consultation Follow-Up—The CO-RNPC Study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the nationwide total lockdown (LD) in France on weight loss and body composition modifications in subjects participating in a weight loss program and to evaluate the impact of remote consultations on participants’ adherence to the weight loss program. The CO-RNPC study was a prospective multicentre cohort study including participants undergoing a two to six months program. The rate of weight loss in kg/week was computed before (15 days), during (99 days) and after LD (15 days). In the 1550 completing participants, body weight decreased from 87.1 kg [IQR 77.0; 100.2] to 82.3 kg [72.1; 94.3] resulting in a difference of −4.79 kg [−4.48; −5.10] (p < 0.01), with a corresponding reduction in waist circumference by 4 cm ([0; 9], p < 0.01). The median weight loss was 4.4 kg [0.5; 9.4] in those who used remote consultations, and 1.4 kg [0.8; 5.7] in the no remote consultation group (p < 0.01). In this large prospective cohort, we observed that the rate of weight loss was reduced during LD. This reduction was counterbalanced in participants involved in a remote consultation follow-up with a dose-effect response based on the number of remote consultations.