Watch out

Weight Watchers works best, according to a study published in the Lancet. The RCT recruited overweight and obese adults from primary care practices in the UK, Australia and Germany, randomised to receive a commercial weight loss programme or standard care. Results indicated that "participants in the commercial programme group lost twice as much weight as did those in the standard care group." A recent audit of the UK's weight watchers on prescription programme was similarly positive.

Mind the gap: what doctors can do

The BMA has published a guide for doctors on how they can contribute to reducing health inequalities, focusing on a holistic approach to medical practice. A study in Social Science and Medicine examines how far general practitioners (in France) contribute to increasing health inequalities by overestimating the health of patients with lower educational attainment. The researchers found that patients of lower and medium educational level were more at risk of being overestimated in terms of self reported health.

Fair's Fare Issue 23

The latest round up of Fair's Fare blogs: Issue 23 is now available on EPHRU's website

Screen daze

A special issue of Ethnicity and Health provides a survey on haemoglobin disorders. Articles include a consideration of the ethical issues related to screening , familial influence in screening and the implications of living with sickle cell disease.

The Scottish effect: what's behind the numbers?

Scotland's mortality rate is higher than those for England and Wales and the presence of deprivation does not provide an adequate answer. A study in the Journal of Public Health tests the effect's reality at individual level by including in their analysis people who were Scottish born as well as those living in Scotland. They found that the higher mortality rate applied also to those who had left Scotland and subsequently lived in England and Wales, leading to the suggestion that taking a "life course" approach to the subject may well provide illumination. The Scottish national phenomenon can also be narrowed down to a Glasgow effect: a recent study in Health and Place asks whether this is associated with selective internal migration (they find there's no evidence for this). A comparative study, looking at premature mortality in deprived areas in England and Wales as well as Scotland, finds that between 1991 and 2001 rates amongst men rose by 14% in Scotland, while there was no significant change in England and Wales. The rise in Scottish mortality rates was largely driven by results for Glasgow (as rise of 15% for the period). The Glasgow Centre for Population Health is currently engaged on a programme of research into this effect, looking for insights provided by a comparison with Liverpool and Manchester.

Left out

Social exclusion has long been considered an issue for people with mental illness. A study in Social Inclusion and Mental Health offers a survey of current evidence, based on the findings of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Scoping Group on Social Exclusion and Mental Health. Another piece of research in the same journal looks at ways to address the impact of social exclusion on mental health in Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller (GRT) communities.

Staying put

An interesting piece of research in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health examines the association of housing type with reduced rates of admission to institutional care, in particular asking whether this is because wealthier people can afford to buy in care rather than move into care homes or because homeowners are unwilling to sell in order to fund residential care (findings indicate the latter). On the Guardian's Joe Public blog, Claudia Wood considers the effect of personal care budgets on residential care. She's also the author of a Demos report on personalisation of care, Tailor Made.