Nursing interventions for body weight control in adults: systematic review

Abstract

Overweight and obesity problems affect all age groups, but more frequently those belonging to the group of adults between 20 and 49 years of age. Objective: to identify the effect of nursing interventions on body weight control in adults. Methodology: the research design was a systematic review based on the Prisma statement, searching the databases PubMed, Science Direct and Google Scholar, in Spanish, English and Portuguese, with a ten-year interval. Open access articles referring to the implementation of nursing interventions for body weight control in adults were included. Results: thirteen scientific studies were analyzed, eleven randomized controlled trials (n=11) and two quasi-experimental studies (n=2), among the main results it was identified that all participants were overweight or obese, underwent educational or behavioral interventions with face-to-face, virtual or mixed modalities, showing weight loss greater than 5% of the baseline measurement, reductions in BMI, skinfold and cardiovascular risk data with effect size reports (Cohen's d) of 0.30 and 0.34. Conclusions: although the studies show positive results for their participants in body weight reduction, the barriers to body weight reduction and maintenance of the new weight achieved continue to be a challenge for both the nursing profession and the health care field.