The SMART Motivational Study Demonstrates WatchWT™ is Effective for Treating Overweight and Obesity in Primary Care

Golden, CO, August 28, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Microlife Medical Home Solutions, Inc. (MiMHS) announces the results from the Self Monitoring & Resting Metabolic Rate Technology (SMART) Motivational study were published in Patient Education & Counseling, an international scientific journal for patient education and health promotion researchers, managers, physicians, nurses and other health care providers. The SMART Motivational trial assessed the efficacy of a comprehensive program for obese adults in a primary care medical clinic.

Currently, most clinicians follow national standards for prescribing low-calorie (i.e., 1200-1600 calories/day) nutrition programs. In addition, most patients usually self-monitor with a paper journal. A study published in 2007, however, indicates that weight loss from low calorie diets is approximately 50% less than what is usually expected. Nutrition experts believe patients have extreme difficulty following such low-calorie programs. Moreover, the uses of paper journals lack effective feedback to help patients with changing nutrition and activity behaviors. WatchWT (Whole Aspect of Treating and Caring for High Weight) promotes a nutrition program based on a patient’s individualized metabolic needs, structured educational materials, and use of electronic self-monitoring applications that provide immediate and structured feedback on patient behaviors.

“Patients following the WatchWT program lost approximately 8 lbs and decreased their systolic and diastolic blood pressure by 5 and 2 mmHg, respectively,” said Dr. Scott McDoniel, the primary investigator of the study. Dr. McDoniel continued to say “Over 1/3rd of the patients lost more than 5% of their bodyweight which is essential for reducing the risk of patients developing diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, sleep apnea, etc.” Interestingly, participants following the WatchWT program were prescribed 450-700 more calories per day and lost the same amount of weight as those that followed a 1200-1600 calorie diet. “Why increase hunger discomfort in patients from low-calorie diets since adherence appears to be an issue. Patients appear more motivated and better able to follow a diet plan based on their own metabolic requirements,” said Dr. McDoniel.

Obesity is a major concern in the U.S. healthcare system. The costs associated from obesity exceed $170 billion US dollars. In addition, a 2008 study indicated primary care physicians are doing little to help their overweight patients. “PCPs believe treating overweight and obese patients is not clinically effective nor financially feasible,” said Dr. Scott Hammond, a practicing primary care physician in Westminster, CO. “Primary Care physicians need effective solutions and the results from this study provide support that a systematic program such as WatchWT is very promising,” continued Dr. Hammond.

WatchWT is designed specifically to help busy healthcare providers implement an evidence-based, guideline-driven program into their medical practices. Core components of the WatchWT program include:

· MedGem® hand-held indirect calorimeter for assessing patient oxygen consumption and resting metabolic rate
· MedGem® Analyzer software program for developing personalized nutrition and physical activity programs
· Clinical algorithms and patient assessment questionnaires
· Structured patient educational materials
· Standard electronic or paper self-monitoring journal.

Reference:
McDoniel S, Wolskee P, & Shen J. 2009. Treating obesity with a novel hand-held device, computer software program, and internet technology in primary care: The SMART motivational study. Patient Educ & Couns, 2009; In Press.doi:10.1016/j.pec.2009.07.034

About Microlife Medical Home Solutions, Inc — A US subsidiary of Microlife Corporation, Microlife Medical Home Solutions Inc. is dedicated to meeting the needs of healthcare providers and their busy medical practices. Our proprietary hand-held medical devices and systematic solutions offer healthcare providers evidence-based and practice-tested methods for accurate assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Microlife is committed to working with healthcare providers to help reduce hypertension and obesity rates and its associated healthcare expenditures by providing efficient and cost-effective solutions.

###