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

Scaling a tertiary multidisciplinary obesity program to a non-tertiary hospital setting to improve access to care (144251)

Caitlyn Mawn 1 , James Bartholomew 1 , Tania Bennett 1 , Richelle Street 1 , Kim Gestro 2 , Erynn McAuley 1
  1. Nutrition and Dietetics Department, Logan Beaudesert Health Service, Metro South Hospital and Health Service, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  2. Psychology Department, Logan Beaudesert Health Service, Metro South Hospital and Health Service, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Introduction:

The Structured Treatment and Resilience Intervention for Diet and Exercise (STRIDE) Program was implemented at Logan Beaudesert Health Service to improve access to evidence-based, multidisciplinary obesity care. Adapted from the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital Tertiary Obesity Multidisciplinary Service (TOMS), STRIDE is a 12-month, group-based program using a modified workforce model, incorporating a Very Low Energy Diet (VLED) with structured education and exercise sessions delivered by an exercise physiologist, dietitian and psychologist. This evaluation reports 3- and 6-month anthropometric, functional and quality-of-life (QOL) outcomes.

Methods:

Eligible participants were adults (body mass index [BMI] ≥30kg/m2 with comorbidity or ≥40 kg/m2) referred to STRIDE between July 2025 and June 2026. Primary outcomes were weight, BMI and waist circumference (WC). Secondary outcomes included functional measures (6-minute walk distance, 30-second sit-to-stand, hand-grip strength) and QOL (EQ-5D-5L index value and visual analogue scale [VAS]). Changes were analysed using linear mixed models with Bonferroni-adjusted pairwise comparisons.

Results:

Of 42 participants who accepted referral, 30 commenced STRIDE (70% female; mean age 52.7±12.6 years; BMI 47.4±9.9kg/m2; 33% prescribed incretin mimetics). Participants achieved sustained reductions in weight (3-months: -10.2kg (95%CI -13.7, -6.7); 6-months: -14.4kg (95%CI -20.3, -8.5)), BMI (3-months: -3.6kg/m2 (95%CI –4.6, -2.6); 6-months: -5.0 kg/m2 (95%CI –7.2, -2.7)) and WC (3-months: -7.1cm (95%CI –8.9, -5.3); 6-months: -10.9cm (95%CI –13.8, -7.9)). Functional outcomes improved across all measures at 3- and 6-months. QOL VAS improved at both timepoints. There were no changes in index value.

Conclusions:

STRIDE achieved clinically meaningful weight loss and functional improvements at 3- and 6-months, comparable to TOMS, demonstrating that a tertiary obesity program can be effectively adapted for a non-tertiary hospital. Larger scale evaluation of 12-month outcomes is needed to confirm sustained benefit. These early findings support broader implementation of tertiary obesity services across diverse hospital settings, improving access to evidence-based care.