Poster Presentation Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society Annual Scientific Conference 2026

Sustained weight loss and diet quality improvements following a meal replacement intervention programme: a 12-month pre–post evaluation. (#104)

Victoria Andrews 1 , Janet Franklin 1 2 3 , Elisia Manson 2 , Hannah Nelthorpe 1 2 , Tania Markovic 1 2 4 , Samantha Hocking 1 2 4
  1. Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  2. Metabolism and Obesity Services, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  3. Translational Health Research Institute, ENRG, Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  4. Boden Initiative, Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Background: Diets using meal replacements (MR) have demonstrated greater effectiveness for weight loss than standard behavioural programmes[1]. Despite this, MR are infrequently prescribed, largely due to concerns that behavioural change is not sustained after completion[2]. This study evaluated 6 and 12-month outcomes of a MR intervention for adults with obesity addressing this evidence gap.

Methods: Participants commencing a 12-week diet using MR between 2021 and 2025 with available 6-month follow-up weight data were included. Outcomes included weight, comorbidities and the following characteristics; dietary behaviours (food habits questionnaire, grazing questionnaire), physical activity (Baecke questionnaire), eating behaviour/self-efficacy (EDE-Q, WELQ), and psychosocial wellbeing (PROMIS, Weight Bias Internalization Scale). Changes from baseline to 6 and 12-months were assessed using t-tests, while predictors of weight change were examined using linear mixed-effects modelling.

Results: 96 participants were included with mean age 53.3 years and 70% female. Mean weight loss was 8.5% at 6 months (n=96) and 5% at 12 months (n=55). Food habits, grazing, and food addiction scores all improved by 6 months and were maintained at 12 months (Table 1). The most notable improvement in self-efficacy and physical activity was at 12 months (p < 0.05). Dietary fat-reduction habits worsened at 12 months, while actual food intake improved substantially (with reduced discretionary food). A linear mixed model found total baseline characteristics explained only 8.8% of weight-loss variance, with only baseline self-efficacy (WELQ) statistically significant (p = 0.02).  

Conclusion: The MR diet achieved durable weight loss and psychosocial gains, supporting greater clinician confidence in MR utilisation.

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  1. [1] Astbury, N. M., Aveyard, P., Nickless, A., Hood, K., Corfield, K., Lowe, R., & Jebb, S. A. (2018). Doctor Referral of Overweight People to Low Energy total diet replacement Treatment (DROPLET): Pragmatic randomised controlled trial. BMJ, 362, Article k3760. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k3760
  2. [2] Gripeteg, L., Karlsson, J., Torgerson, J., & Lindroos, A. K. (2010). Predictors of very-low-energy diet outcome in obese women and men. Obesity Facts, 3(3), 159–165. https://doi.org/10.1159/000314655