Change of body weight and lifestyle of persons at risk for diabetes after screening and counselling in pharmacies

Objective To investigate the effects of pharmacy based counselling on changes in lifestyle and body weight. Methods Three months after screening a stratified sample of 3,800 randomly chosen overweight persons were addressed with questionnaires. Half a year and 1 year later the assessment was repeated. Standard counselling (SC; non-specific recommendations towards lifestyle), intensive counselling (IC; additional advice to reduce body weight) and counselling for persons at high risk for type 2 diabetes (HRC; recommendation to contact a physician) were compared. Results All counselling groups (SC; n = 557, IC; n = 568, HRC; n = 245) showed significant weight loss three months after screening (0.6–1.9 kg). A further weight reduction was observed at 1 year follow up (1.1–2.4 kg). The HRC group showed a higher percentage of weight loss than the IC or SC group after 3 months (−2.25% vs. −1.20% and −0.67%; P < 0.001) and at 1 year of follow-up (−2.74% vs. −1.54% and −1.29%; P < 0.01). Lifestyle changes in physical activity and/or nutrition were reported by 81.2% in the HRC group, 74.1% in the IC group and 67.0% in the SC group. Conclusion Immediate counselling in community pharmacies after screening for type 2 diabetes can result in significant lifestyle changes and weight loss in overweight individuals.