Study shows team-based medical approach redefines obesity care

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A new study published in the June 10 issue of the medical journal PLOS ONE has identified key patient motivators to enhance the effectiveness of WVU Medicine J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital’s Medical Weight Management Program. 

This research comes as medical perspectives shift toward classifying obesity as a chronic disease rather than a consequence of lifestyle.  

To help address this complex condition, the Medical Weight Management Program uses an evidence-based, multidisciplinary approach. Led by board-certified physicians in obesity medicine, the program connects patients with nutritional counselors, health coaches, pharmacists, behavioral medicine specialists, and patient navigators.  

“Obesity care has gone through many phases, and it’s not always been medical in the past,” Treah Haggerty, M.D., clinic director of Pediatric Medical Weight Management at WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s and the study’s lead author, said. “This study was to try to understand more about how patients perceive a clinic that’s using evidence-based practice.” 

Researchers interviewed 20 patients enrolled in the Medical Weight Management Program and based their findings on the recurrent themes that emerged from interview content. 

“One of the most encouraging findings was that participants remained in our Program for an average of more than two years,” Laura Davisson, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.P., Medical Weight Management Clinic director, said. “This reflects patient acceptance of obesity as a chronic disease requiring long-term care, much like diabetes or hypertension.” 

Not only did patients remain in the Program, but they were also willing to stay even after their health insurance stopped covering GLP-1s. Patients reported feeling supported by the Medical Weight Management Clinic staff while navigating these changes to insurance coverage. 

“The medical pillar is not just the anti-obesity medicines,” Dr. Haggerty said. “That’s a piece of what we do, but it’s only a piece. The patients found value in the whole picture.”  

The study also revealed that patients wanted more clinic check-ins to enhance their progress. Haggerty noted that the Program did not intend for “healthy lifestyles to be too demanding,” and she viewed this as an opportunity to coordinate patient visits more efficiently across additional clinic services. 

Other key themes also emerged from the study. Patients expressed satisfaction with the Program’s clinical and support staff and appreciated their non-judgmental support in an environment that did not stigmatize or discriminate. In addition, intrinsic motivation, especially a desire to improve their health, led most patients to join the Program. 

The study’s results will help foster the clinic’s growth and direction by identifying ways to further improve patient satisfaction and weight loss results. 

For more information about WVU Medicine Medical Weight Management, click here.