Occupational Therapy for Adults with Overweight and Obesity: Mapping Interventions Involving Occupational Therapists.
Svetlana Solgaard Nielsen, Jeanette Reffstrup Christensen
PMID 30510496WHAT IT FOUND
Adults with overweight or obesity in programmes involving occupational therapists often lost weight: eight of 11 studies reported weight loss.
Most programmes were multidisciplinary, so occupational therapy alone cannot be separated.
Key findings
01Eight studies used weight loss as an outcome, and all eight reported improvements, including short-, intermediate-, and long-term interventions.
02BMI results were mixed: three studies found significant effects at discharge, one at maintenance, one randomised trial at short and intermediate term, and there were also mixed subgroup results and no significant BMI results.
03Seven included studies were multidisciplinary, and several did not declare a specific occupational therapy role or contribution.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
This was a scoping review, so it gives a broad map rather than a reliable estimate of treatment effect. Only studies with identifiable occupational therapist involvement were searched, and author keywords may have missed relevant work. Most included studies were not randomised, and samples were small, from 2 to 91 participants who completed the intervention. Many studies had high dropout rates, reported as 30-38%. The occupational therapy role was often unclear, and several studies did not declare any specific occupational therapy contribution.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that occupational therapy alone caused weight loss. Most programmes were multidisciplinary, and several did not declare the occupational therapist role, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated.