Lifestyle clinical trial for weight loss in adults living with MS

Associate Professor Yasmine Probst’s research brings together a multidisciplinary team of health professionals involved in the usual care of MS.

Associate Professor Probst and her team will use a tested randomised controlled trial design for lifestyle management to help people living with MS to make positive changes to their eating patterns, exercise routine and overall self-management of their MS. Making positive behaviour changes will enable people living with MS to take control of their disease.

The team’s lifestyle approach includes nutrition, exercise and psychology elements and will compare them with usual care delivered by an MS nurse. All strategies will be provided via a telehealth platform. Changes to health measures including percentage body fat, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, disability, fatigue, and sleep will be assessed, in addition to markers of inflammation. The cost effectiveness of this type of care will be evaluated to consider its suitability in practice.

It is hypothesised that the tailored lifestyle approach will result in greater improvements to symptoms of MS.Associate Professor Yasmine Probst’s research brings together a multidisciplinary team of health professionals involved in the usual care of MS.

Obesity is a known risk factor for MS onset and a known risk factor for increased disability in established MS. It is known that that a high proportion of the MS population is living with extra body weight as a modifiable lifestyle factor. The evidence shows that if we lose weight, this will affect changes beyond body size alone. However, losing weight and maintaining it is difficult and needs the support of a healthcare team to aid in behaviour change.

Associate Professor Probst and her team will use a tested randomised controlled trial design for lifestyle management to help people living with MS to make positive changes to their eating patterns, exercise routine and overall self-management of their MS. Making positive behaviour changes will enable people living with MS to take control of their disease.

The team’s lifestyle approach includes nutrition, exercise and psychology elements and will compare them with usual care delivered by an MS nurse. All strategies will be provided via a telehealth platform. Changes to health measures including percentage body fat, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, disability, fatigue, and sleep will be assessed, in addition to markers of inflammation, which increase when a person is carrying extra body weight. The cost effectiveness of this type of care will be evaluated to consider its suitability in practice.

It is hypothesised that the tailored lifestyle approach will result in increased weight loss and greater improvements to symptoms of MS.