Modifying a weight management intervention for people with intellectual disabilities

Obesity is a major health concern nationally and internationally. People who are obese are more likely to develop diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure which affect their quality of lofe and may reduce their life expectancy. People with intellectual disabilities (ID) are more likely to be obese than people in the general population. One reason for this is that interventions to reduce obesity are not always accessible to people with ID because they are too hard to understand and follow. Slimming World (SW) has been shown to help people in the general population to lose weight but we do not know how suitable the SW intervention is for people with ID. This study will work with people with ID to identify how the SW intervention can be changed to make it more acceptable and relevant for people with ID. We will discuss what people tell us with experts from SW and together we will make changes to the intervention so that people with ID can join in with existing Slimming World groups and follow an appropriate and accessible weight management programme. We will also try the intervention with around eight people with ID to test whether it is feasible to run the modified intervention for people with ID, and make further improvements before we decide whether it is sensible to develop a study to test whether the intervention actually helps people with ID to lose weight.

Obesity is a major public health concern nationally and internationally. There is a higher prevalence of obesity in adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) compared to the general population (39.3% women; 27.8% men with ID are obese compared with 25.1% women;22.7% men in the general population). Interventions shown to be clinically effective at achieving sustained weight loss in the general population are unlikely to be accessible and appropriate to this population because of their complexity. Research is needed to develop and test weight loss interventions designed to meet the needs of this population (recognising communication and literacy needs as well as broader issues of participation and inclusion). The proposed study is informed by the MRC framework and involves both development and feasibility components. The study will adopt a participatory approach to review and where necessary, modify and existing weigh management intervention (Slimming World), for use with adults (age =18) with ID who are overweight or obese (BMI>25). It will explore the feasibility and acceptability of delivering the modified intervention from the perspectives of a range of stakeholders. Only adults with the capacity to consent prior to recruitment. The study will be carried out in collaboration with eight people with ID in recognition of the importance of involving disabled people in the development of services addressing their needs. Outputs from the study will include a prototype of a modified Slimming World (SW) intervention for use with adults with ID who are overweight or obese, a protocol for establishing capacity to consent, a set of measures and procedures for collecting data from participants with ID and briefing notes on the development process to inform similar work on other issues. The study will conclude with an assessment of whether to proceed to a pilot trial made in collaboration with representatives from Sheffield University Clinical Trials Research Unit.