Case Study: Leicestershire Nutrition and Dietetic Services achieves sustained weight loss and cost-effective, secure patient support with BlackBerry

Weight-loss study uses BlackBerry solution to help participants meet weight-management goals

Leicestershire Nutrition and Dietetic Services (LNDS), one of the UK’s largest dietitian teams, runs LEAP, a free 12‑week NHS weight‑management programme. Although LEAP helps people lose weight, many participants experienced gradual regain and inconsistent attendance at optional follow‑ups due to petrol costs, work and childcare. LNDS needed a secure, low‑cost way to support frequent self‑monitoring and sustain behaviour change without relying on face‑to‑face appointments.

In a controlled study LNDS equipped its lead dietitian with a BlackBerry smartphone and used SMS2Desk to convert between email and text so communications were secure, logged and printable. The practitioner sent tailored daily goals and twice‑weekly prompts to an intervention group (17 participants) and managed replies on the move, cutting travel and staff time. After three months the intervention group continued to lose weight while the control group regained weight, demonstrating improved engagement, cost effectiveness and time savings.

Leicestershire Nutrition and Dietetic Services

Eleanor Donaldson

Adult weight management dietitian