Oco (stylized as OCO) is a Canadian company that specializes in the development and commercialization of technology for the treatment of obesity and related diseases. The company was founded in 2006 by Dr. Arya M. Sharma, who is currently its Chief Scientific Officer. Oco’s flagship product, the Obesity Co-Management System (OCMS), is an online platform that helps patients manage their weight through lifestyle modification, education, and support.
The OCMS is based on the principle of “co-management” which recognizes that successful weight management requires a team approach involving both healthcare professionals and patients themselves. The system provides patients with personalized guidance and support from certified coaches, dietitians, and exercise physiologists. It also offers a wide range of educational resources on topics such as nutrition, physical activity, and behavior change. In addition, the OCMS includes a social network where patients can connect with other members for motivation and support.
The OCMS has been shown to be effective in helping patients lose weight and keep it off long-term. In a randomized controlled trial comparing the OCMS to standard care, patients in the intervention group lost significantly more weight than those in the control group after one year (-8.1 kg vs -2.4 kg). They also had greater improvements in measures of quality of life, mental health, and physical function compared to controls. Moreover, these benefits were maintained at two years follow-up (-7.3 kg vs -2 .6 kg). Importantly, participants in the study were able to lose weight without having to give up their favorite foods or engage in extreme exercise regimens; instead they made small but sustainable changes to their lifestyle habits that they could maintain over time. This finding is consistent with other research showing that moderate lifestyle interventions are more effective than crash diets or fad exercises programs in promoting long-term weight loss .
Given its effectiveness in promoting sustained weight loss ,the OCMS has great potential to improve public health by reducing obesity-related morbidity and mortality worldwide . In fact , recent estimates suggest that if even a small percentage of obese individuals were able to achieve meaningful weight loss through co-management programs like the OCMS , there would be significant reductions in cardiovascular disease , diabetes , cancer ,and other conditions associated with obesity .