Leading researchers from Denmark and the United Kingdom will develop and test new obesity management programmes. The goal is to improve health and quality of life through solutions that can contribute to lasting changes, including long-term weight loss. The Novo Nordisk Foundation is backing the project with a grant of DKK 180 million (€24.2 million).
The LightCOM research project will develop, implement and evaluate new obesity management programmes that will be offered in both primary and secondary care while accommodating global challenges related to obesity.
The project comprises development and testing of two independent programmes: an intensive weight-loss programme and a weight-neutral programme. The intensive weight-loss programme is intended to ensure extensive and sustained weight loss as well as improved physical and mental health. The weight-neutral programme will not aim to reduce the weight of the people who participate but instead focus on improving people’s health-related quality of life by focusing on body acceptance, eating patterns and physical activity.
Both programmes, which will be tested across the healthcare system in both Denmark and the United Kingdom, will make use of dietary strategies as well as innovative digital and health technology solutions to support lasting change. In parallel with the clinical research, health economic analysis to examine the cost–effectiveness will be included. In addition, the researchers will study how to optimise the implementation of these programmes if they prove to be effective. This will enable the solutions to be rapidly rolled out within the healthcare systems in Denmark and the United Kingdom.
LightCOM will be led by a series of leading researchers from Denmark and the United Kingdom, with the involvement of municipalities and local health boards, general practitioners and hospitals. The Danish partners in the project include the University of Copenhagen, the University of Southern Denmark and several municipalities within the Capital Region of Denmark. In the United Kingdom the research will be led by the University of Oxford.
