Diet Therapy, Obesity, Weight Loss
Conditions
Keywords
internet, weight management, behavior therapy, self-help, commercial program, obesity
Brief summary
The primary purpose of this study was to compare weight loss achieved through a behavioral online intervention vs. a commercial self-help website. The investigators hypothesized that there would be no difference in weight loss between groups.
Detailed description
Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. Novel approaches are needed to address this issue on a broad scale. The internet holds promise as a way to disseminate effective weight loss strategies. The primary purpose of this study was to compare weight loss achieved through a behavioral online intervention vs. a commercial self-help website. A second aim was to evaluate the utilization of web components and their relationship to weight loss between groups and within groups in order to determine what aspects of web usage correlate to weight loss.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALbehavior modification for weight loss
Sponsors
University of Vermont
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* BMI between 25 and 39.9 kg/m2 * 18 or older
Exclusion criteria
* Planned to move within 1 year * Planned a pregnancy within 1 year * Take medications with weight implications * Unable to exercise moderately * Participating in another weight loss program * Lacked minimum computer requirements
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| weight change | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| social influence components | — |
| eating behavior | — |
| web usage correlation to weight change | — |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed