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Associations of internet website use with weight change in a long-term weight loss maintenance program.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Funk, KL; Stevens, VJ; Appel, LJ; Bauck, A; Brantley, PJ; Champagne, CM; Coughlin, J; Dalcin, AT; Harvey-Berino, J; Hollis, JF; Jerome, GJ ...
Published in: J Med Internet Res
July 27, 2010

BACKGROUND: The Weight Loss Maintenance Trial (WLM) compared two long-term weight-maintenance interventions, a personal contact arm and an Internet arm, with a no-treatment control after an initial six-month Phase I weight loss program. The Internet arm focused on use of an interactive website for support of long-term weight maintenance. There is limited information about patterns of website use and specific components of an interactive website that might help promote maintenance of weight loss. OBJECTIVE: This paper presents a secondary analysis of the subset of participants in the Internet arm and focuses on website use patterns and features associated with long-term weight maintenance. METHODS: Adults at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) who lost at least 4 kilograms in an initial 20-week group-based, behavioral weight-loss program were trained to use an interactive website for weight loss maintenance. Of the 348 participants, 37% were male and 38% were African American. Mean weight loss was 8.6 kilograms. Participants were encouraged to log in at least weekly and enter a current weight for the 30-month study period. The website contained features that encouraged setting short-term goals, creating action plans, and reinforcing self-management habits. The website also included motivational modules, daily tips, and tailored messages. Based on log-in and weight-entry frequency, we divided participants into three website use categories: consistent, some, and minimal. RESULTS: Participants in the consistent user group (n = 212) were more likely to be older (P = .002), other than African American (P = .02), and more educated (P = .01). While there was no significant difference between website use categories in the amount of Phase I change in body weight (P = .45) or income (P = .78), minimal website users (n = 75) were significantly more likely to have attended fewer Phase I sessions (P = .001) and had a higher initial body mass index (BMI) (P < .001). After adjusting for baseline characteristics including initial BMI, variables most associated with less weight regain included: number of log-ins (P = .001), minutes on the website (P < .001), number of weight entries (P = .002), number of exercise entries (P < .001), and sessions with additional use of website features after weight entry (P = .002). CONCLUSION: Participants defined as consistent website users of an interactive behavioral website designed to promote maintenance of weight loss were more successful at maintaining long-term weight loss. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT00054925; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00054925 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/5rC7523ue).

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Published In

J Med Internet Res

DOI

EISSN

1438-8871

Publication Date

July 27, 2010

Volume

12

Issue

3

Start / End Page

e29

Location

Canada

Related Subject Headings

  • Weight Loss
  • Weight Gain
  • Self Care
  • Physical Fitness
  • Patient Selection
  • Obesity
  • Middle Aged
  • Medical Informatics
  • Male
  • Interpersonal Relations
 

Citation

APA
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Funk, K. L., Stevens, V. J., Appel, L. J., Bauck, A., Brantley, P. J., Champagne, C. M., … Vollmer, W. M. (2010). Associations of internet website use with weight change in a long-term weight loss maintenance program. J Med Internet Res, 12(3), e29. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.1504
Funk, Kristine L., Victor J. Stevens, Lawrence J. Appel, Alan Bauck, Phillip J. Brantley, Catherine M. Champagne, Janelle Coughlin, et al. “Associations of internet website use with weight change in a long-term weight loss maintenance program.J Med Internet Res 12, no. 3 (July 27, 2010): e29. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.1504.
Funk KL, Stevens VJ, Appel LJ, Bauck A, Brantley PJ, Champagne CM, et al. Associations of internet website use with weight change in a long-term weight loss maintenance program. J Med Internet Res. 2010 Jul 27;12(3):e29.
Funk, Kristine L., et al. “Associations of internet website use with weight change in a long-term weight loss maintenance program.J Med Internet Res, vol. 12, no. 3, July 2010, p. e29. Pubmed, doi:10.2196/jmir.1504.
Funk KL, Stevens VJ, Appel LJ, Bauck A, Brantley PJ, Champagne CM, Coughlin J, Dalcin AT, Harvey-Berino J, Hollis JF, Jerome GJ, Kennedy BM, Lien LF, Myers VH, Samuel-Hodge C, Svetkey LP, Vollmer WM. Associations of internet website use with weight change in a long-term weight loss maintenance program. J Med Internet Res. 2010 Jul 27;12(3):e29.

Published In

J Med Internet Res

DOI

EISSN

1438-8871

Publication Date

July 27, 2010

Volume

12

Issue

3

Start / End Page

e29

Location

Canada

Related Subject Headings

  • Weight Loss
  • Weight Gain
  • Self Care
  • Physical Fitness
  • Patient Selection
  • Obesity
  • Middle Aged
  • Medical Informatics
  • Male
  • Interpersonal Relations