Since 2019, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) has been monitoring developments surrounding the Combined Lifestyle Intervention (CLI), a treatment for people who are overweight and people with obesity. For the first time, RIVM has investigated whether the results of CLI are affected by the use of medication with a weight loss effect. CLI participants who do not use medication lose a little less weight on average (4.4%) than all participants combined (5%), i.e. including those who do use medication.
This minor difference means that CLI is effective when it comes to making participants lose weight, even if they do not use medication. Of the participants in CLI, 12% use a type of medication with a weight loss effect (such as diabetes medication), but only 1% use medication primarily targeted at weight loss (obesity medication). For this reason, there is insufficient data to draw conclusions on any specific pronouncements on the effects of combining CLI with that specific type of medication.
Since 2019, 121,000 people living in the Netherlands have taken part in CLI (in Dutch). Those who take part receive two years of guidance and advice on healthy nutrition, eating habits and exercise. CLI is covered by basic health insurance, subject to certain conditions (in Dutch)
Improvement in quality of life
The latest report shows that participants’ quality of life significantly improves as well: 13 points higher than before starting CLI on a scale from 0 (most unhealthy) to 100 (most healthy). Participants who lose more than 5% of bodyweight see a more drastic improvement in quality of life than participants who lose less weight (15 points higher versus 11 points higher than at the start). The use of medication with a weight loss effect does not affect this improvement, with participants who do and do not use medication seeing equal improvements in quality of life.
Next report in spring 2025
RIVM monitors developments surrounding CLI and its results on behalf of the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.
In its next report, due for publication in the spring of 2025, RIVM will provide more details on the reasons why people choose to complete the CLI programme or abandon it ahead of time.