Am J Prev Med

IntroductionPeople with serious mental illness experience elevated severe obesity rates, yet limited evidence documents whether lifestyle intervention participation can benefit these individuals. This study examined the impact of the In SHAPE lifestyle intervention on weight loss among participants with serious mental illness and severe obesity (BMI 6540 kg/m2) compared with participants who are overweight (BMI 25 to <30 kg/m2) and have class I (BMI 30 to <35 kg/m2) or have class II (BMI 35 to <40 kg/m2) obesity.MethodsData were combined from three trials of the 12-month In SHAPE intervention for individuals with serious mental illness collected between 2007 and 2013 and analyzed in 2014. In SHAPE includes individual weekly meetings with a fitness trainer, a gym membership, and nutrition education. The primary outcome was weight loss. Secondary outcomes were fitness, blood pressure, lipids, and program adherence.ResultsParticipants (N=192) were diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum (53.1%) or mood (46.9%) disorders. At 12 months, the overall sample showed significant weight loss, but differences among BMI groups were not significant (severe obesity, 2.57% [7.98%]; class II, 2.26% [8.69%]; class I, 1.05% [6.86%]; overweight, 0.83% [7.62%]). One third of participants with severe obesity achieved 655% weight loss, which was comparable across groups. More participants with severe obesity achieved 6510% weight loss (20%) than overweight (2.9%, p=0.001) and class I (5.9%, p