CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF LITERATURE REVIEWByInstitution

Abstract

Obesity has emerged as a threat to many people, due to its association with lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and cancer. Many health programmes that aim to help people shed off extra weight exist, but lack of enough data to substantiate the effectiveness of these methods remains the major bottleneck (Murphy & Barr, 2005). This is an appraisal of a study done by Truby, Baic, Fox, Livingstone, Logan, Macdonald, and Millward, to identify the viability of four commercial dietary programmes. These programmes include the Dr. Atkins diet revolution, Rosemary Conley, Weight Watchers, and Slim-Fast dietary programmes. The study utilizes a double-blinded randomized trial where 300 participants take part in the exercise. This method of randomization helps avoiding bias caused by preconceived ideas or knowledge (Sibbald, & Roland, 1998). Each group consist of 60 participants taking the exercise through five stations. The participants undergo assessment at beginning of the exercise, at two months, at six months and at 12 months to track the changes in weight, body fat, cholesterol level and blood pressure (Truby et al. 2006). The analysis of the data from these participants provides information regarding participants’ behaviour and the viability of each programme. The study showed that participants who adhered to the respective dietary patters managed to shed at least 10% of their body ...