Weight stigma and internalised weight bias are associated with poor mental, social and physical health. Weight-neutral approaches prioritise well-being and sustainable health behaviours. However, the feasibility and acceptability of weight-neutral interventions remain uncertain.
Weight-Neutral Health Intervention (WIN) is an investigator-initiated single-arm feasibility study enrolling 56 adults with body mass index ≥30 kg/m2 in the Capital Region of Denmark. The study investigates a codesigned weight-neutral health intervention. The 6-month intervention comprises 1 preparatory session and 11 group sessions led by trained practitioners, focusing on intuitive eating, body acceptance and self-compassion; optional components include support-network events, up to three individual online sessions and access to ‘size-inclusive yoga’ and ‘body competence’ courses. The primary feasibility outcome is follow-up completion. Recruitment proportion and adherence are secondary feasibility outcomes. These will be assessed using a set of predefined ‘traffic-light’ stop/go progression criteria. Exploratory feasibility outcomes include data completeness for other outcomes and participant engagement with the intervention. Exploratory clinical outcomes include questionnaire data (quality of life, depression, weight bias internalisation, eating behaviours, self-esteem, body image, stress and life satisfaction), clinical measures (weight, heart rate and blood pressure), biomarkers (blood samples and hair cortisol), 7-day actigraphy (physical activity and sleep) and serious adverse events. Qualitative interviews, focus groups and fieldnotes will be used to explore acceptability and contextual factors. If progression criteria are met, the study will inform the design of a pragmatic, multicentre, randomised trial. The exploratory outcomes will inform outcome selection, setting, sample size and procedures.
Approved by the Regional Ethics Committee of the Capital Region of Denmark (H-25013213). Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, conferences and public platforms.
Effective treatment for clinical obesity is available but is rarely offered by healthcare systems, which often treat complications without treating the underlying cause. The LightWAY trial will investigate the clinical benefits and harms as well as cost-effectiveness of an intensive weight loss intervention compared with existing weight management programmes for people with clinical obesity.
LightWAY is an investigator-initiated, international, randomised, parallel-group clinical superiority trial with blinded outcome assessment. Six hundred people seeking treatment for clinical obesity (body mass index ≥35 kg/m2 with comorbidities) will be recruited in centres in the UK and Denmark and randomised 1:1 to one of two groups. The experimental group will be offered a 2-year intensive weight loss programme providing support and advice to follow a total diet replacement programme, followed by gradual transition to an energy-reduced diet in combination with increased physical activity and if needed, prescription of weight loss medication. The control group will receive usual care, typically comprising brief behavioural support for weight loss and treatment of the complications of obesity or occasionally referral to specialist weight management services. The two co-primary outcomes are cardiometabolic risk, assessed with metabolic syndrome severity Z-score, and body weight assessed at 2 years. The secondary outcomes include the Short Form-36 mental component scale, 4-metre gait speed and proportion of participants achieving ≥20% weight loss. The key adverse effects will be the proportion of participants with at least one serious adverse event, incidence of eating disorders and disproportional loss of bone mass. Incremental cost-effectiveness will be assessed over the trial period and over the lifetime through modelling.
Ethical approval was granted in the UK (August 2024, 24/SC/0211) and Denmark (December 2023, H-23065222). Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences and to participants in the trial and clinicians.
The number of people living with obesity is increasing rapidly worldwide, and the WHO estimates approximately 5 million deaths yearly from non-communicable diseases related to elevated body mass index (BMI). The most effective treatment for weight loss is bariatric surgery, but due to the associated risks and the need for lifelong care, this is not a viable treatment for every patient. With the advent of gut-hormone-based medications to treat obesity, the effectiveness of non-surgical treatment is approaching that of surgical interventions. We therefore aim to investigate the beneficial and harmful effects of laparoscopic bariatric surgery versus any non-surgical treatment.
We will conduct a systematic review with meta-analysis applying our eight-step procedure to assess thresholds for clinical significance and trial sequential analysis to mitigate the risk of random errors. To identify relevant trials, we will search for both published and unpublished trials, without any language restriction, in major medical databases (CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS, SCI-EXPANDED and CPCI-S) and trial registries. The date range covered by the search is from database inception until final search date—within 3 months prior to submission of final results manuscript. Two review authors will independently screen references, extract data and perform risk-of-bias assessment using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool 2 and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations. We will include randomised clinical trials comparing laparoscopic surgery currently in use with any non-surgical comparator in adults or adolescents with BMI >30 kg/m2. Quasi-randomised studies or non-randomised studies will not be included. Our critical outcomes are all-cause mortality, serious adverse events and quality of life, and our important outcomes are major cardiovascular events, weight at follow-up, physical function and glycaemic control. In addition, we have two explorative outcomes: metabolic syndrome or Z-score and reported incident of alcohol abuse or other addictive disorder or self-inflicted harm.
This review will collect and perform secondary analysis of data from publicly available sources and ethical approval is therefore not required. The findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at relevant scientific conferences. We will strive to publish with open access. Awareness will be made through social media platforms. This review aims to help clinicians in identifying best practices in the wide-spanning field of obesity treatment.
CRD420251135341.
Total diet replacements (TDRs) and weight loss medications (WLMs) have proven effective in producing substantial weight loss for individuals with obesity. Evidence is lacking on whether combining these treatments is effective and cost-effective in primary care for adults with obesity class I (body mass index (BMI) 30–34.9) or uncomplicated obesity class II or higher (BMI≥35 without obesity-related disease).
LightCARE is a 2-year 1:1 randomised, parallel-group, clinical superiority trial with blinded outcome assessment evaluating the benefits and harms of an intensive weight loss (IWL) intervention compared with usual care for adults with obesity in Denmark and the UK. The trial will include 400 participants aged 18–60 years with obesity class I or uncomplicated obesity class II or higher. The IWL programme aims to achieve and maintain a weight loss of ≥20% through a flexible and individualised combination of TDR, behavioural support, including physical activity and sleep guidance, and WLM if needed and will continue for 2 years. The control group will receive usual care offered in each country, typically consisting of brief behavioural support for weight loss. The primary outcome is body weight 2 years after randomisation. Secondary outcomes will include the proportion of participants achieving ≥20% weight loss, Short-Form-36 Mental Component Score, 4-m gait speed and Metabolic Syndrome Severity-Z score. Serious adverse events, the incidence of eating disorders and bone mineral density will be evaluated as safety outcomes. We will also examine the cost-effectiveness of the intervention, within the trial and in the longer term through modelling. We will conduct a process evaluation to inform any future implementation.
Ethical approval was granted in Denmark (December 2023, H-23051332) and the UK (August 2024, 24/SC/0210). Findings from the trial will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences.
Cortical spreading depolarisation (SD) is a pathological wave of depolarisation in the cortex. SDs occur frequently after severe acute brain injury, and SDs in clusters can contribute to secondary brain damage in patients with severe acute brain injury through hypoperfusion and upregulation of cerebral metabolism in vulnerable brain tissue. Ketamine appears to inhibit SDs both in vitro and in patient series of severe acute brain injury. The KETA-BID trial aims to examine the efficacy and safety of S-ketamine for SDs in severe acute brain injury, as well as the feasibility of the trial design.
This randomised, blinded feasibility and pilot trial includes adults (≥ 18 years) undergoing a supratentorial craniotomy or craniectomy for severe acute brain injury (ie, traumatic brain injury, aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage or spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage). During surgery, an electrocorticography (ECoG) strip is placed adjacent to injured brain tissue. Patients are continuously monitored throughout their stay at the neurointensive care unit and the neurosurgical step-down unit. In the case of an SD, physiological optimisation of intracranial pressure, brain tissue oxygen tension (PbtO2), core temperature and blood glucose is initiated. Participants developing SD clusters are randomised for continuous infusion with S-ketamine or matching placebo in a 1:1 allocation with full blinding of the treatment allocation. Infusion rates (ie, dose) and duration of trial medication are adjusted following a dosing algorithm according to SD occurrence. Surviving participants are followed until 6 months after the injury with recording of functional outcome. The primary outcome is occurrence of SDs per hour of monitoring after randomisation.
The Scientific Ethics Committee of the Capital Region of Denmark (H-21056972), the Danish Medicines Agency (EudraCT 2021-003716-12), as well as the Clinical Trials Information System (CTIS 2024-515315-22-00) approved this trial. This trial will provide insight into both SD and the clinical effects of ketamine following severe acute brain injury, presenting a potential new treatment for these patients. The findings will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed publications.