A weight management programme for patients with severe mental illness: a pilot project in a general hospital setting in Malaysia

Objective: To describe the setting up of a pilot project on weight management programme for patients with severe mental illness (SMI) in a general hospital setting, the effectiveness of the programme on 5 patients and the feasibility of such programme to be developed in our local setting. Methods: Key staff members from relevant disciplines were involved through out the programme, which was based on dietary education, exercise and behavioural techniques. It was conducted weekly for physical exercise and biweekly for topic discussion with a total duration of 16 weeks. Results: Patients achieved means (SDs) weight loss of 1.78 (2.83) kg; BMI reduction of 0.92 (1.41) kg/m(2); and reduction of waist circumference of 6.8 (4.97) cm. Factors associated with positive health outcome were high baseline BMI, high educational level and committed family members. Conclusion: The programme appears to be effective for patients and is feasible to be developed in Malaysian hospitals.