Einstein Collaborates With University of Pennsylvania, Cheyney University and Independence Blue Cross on Weight Management
Study
Philadelphia, PA, February 25, 2008 – A new research study on weight management in primary care is being conducted by Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, the University
of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Cheyney University, and Independence Blue Cross (IBC).
The four-year, randomized controlled study, called Think Health! (or ¡Vive Saludable! in Spanish), is funded by the State of Pennsylvania. It will involve 240 participants in six primary care settings in Philadelphia.
Three are Einstein primary care practices: Northeast Family Practice-Wyoming Avenue; Einstein Plaza Olney-Olney Avenue, and
Einstein Plaza Lawncrest-Colgate Street. Two are Penn practices: PennCare-Edward S. Cooper Practice of General & Internal
Medicine and Internal Medicine Associates; and Penn Family Care at St. Leonard’s Court. One is an independently owned practice:
Greenhouse Internists. The ultimate focus of the study is on incorporating the weight loss program into the ongoing care
of people who are already established patients at these or similar primary care practices. Students and faculty from Cheyney
University (part of the State System of Higher Education) will be part of the research team.
Shiriki Kumanyika, PhD, MPH, Associate Dean for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and Professor of Epidemiology, Center
for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, is the principal investigator
on the research project.
Dr. Kumanyika notes, “Identifying effective strategies for treating obesity is both a clinical challenge and a public health
priority. The need for effective treatment approaches that can be applied in the community at large is particularly critical
for African Americans and Latinos because of the higher than average occurrence of weight-related health problems in these
populations.”
The content of the randomized study is based on the nationally-known Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) which showed the benefits
of modest weight loss and increased physical activity in reducing risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
In that study, overweight participants with impaired glucose tolerance who lost approximately 7 percent of their initial weight
and exercised 150 minutes a week decreased their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 58 percent compared to control participants,
and by 31 percent compared with those prescribed a medication used to treat diabetes (metformin). The risk of developing metabolic
syndrome (involving factors such as high blood pressure and abnormal blood cholesterol or lipid levels, for example), also
was reduced significantly more in lifestyle participants than in those in the two other groups.
All participants in the Penn-Einstein study will receive the same weight control information and primary care provider visits.
But, only one group will have additional visits with a nurse or medical assistant trained to provide “life style coaching”
who will guide them through the study materials, which include information on setting up healthy meal and physical activity
plans. The program materials are offered at no charge to participants.
The Einstein research team is headed by Etienne Phipps, PhD, Director of Einstein’s Center for Urban Health Policy and Research. “We are thrilled to be working with the Penn researchers
and our Cheyney and IBC collaborators on this important study. The communities served by our network are exactly those at
risk for health conditions associated with overweight and obesity,” says Dr. Phipps.
CONTACT: Judy Horwitz
Communications Specialist
Albert Einstein Healthcare Network
215-456-6767 horwitzj@einstein.edu
Publish date: February 25, 2008
