PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Dieters who received weekly
advice from behavioral therapists on the
Internet lost three times as much weight in six
months as those who just had access to
information about diet and exercise on the
Internet – 9 pounds compared to 3 pounds –
according to a recent Brown University study.
Participants in both groups followed the same
pattern: They lost weight during the first three
months, when they most frequently logged onto
the study’s Web site, and they maintained their
weight loss during the next three months, when
their Internet use declined. Participants who
received online advice from behavior therapists
logged on twice as many times during the first
three months as those who just had access to
information online.
“Logging on more frequently was associated with
better weight loss in both groups,” said lead
researcher Deborah F. Tate, assistant professor
of psychiatry and human behavior in the Brown
Medical School, who is based at The Miriam
Hospital. “But more importantly than just
logging on to a Web site is what type of program
you tap into. Our study shows that a structured
program with continued contact works better than
just giving people access to information
online.”
Published in the March 7, 2001, issue of the
Journal of the American Medical Association,
Tate’s study is the first to examine the use of
Internet technology to aid weight loss and lays
the groundwork for future research on the best
methods for helping people to lose weight
online.
Ninety-one people ages 18 to 60, who were on
average 30 pounds overweight, began the study;
sixty-five participants completed the study.
Half were assigned to the “behavior therapy
group.” They received interactive feedback from
a trained therapist through e-mail and had
access to an electronic bulletin board to
facilitate social support among participants, in
addition to informational resources about diet
and exercise. Half were assigned to the
“education group” and had only the Internet
informational resources about diet and exercise.
Many participants achieved a standard
weight-loss benchmark. Forty-five percent of
those in the behavior therapy group and 22
percent of those in the education group lost at
least 5 percent of their initial body weight – a
level that has been shown to produce measurable
health benefits.
Although the weight losses in the study do not
appear to rival clinical face-to-face programs,
which historically have produced 20-pound losses
in six months, the Internet may serve to reach
people who otherwise would not be participating
in those programs, said Tate.
“It is especially important to look for new
methods to help people with weight loss given
that more than 54 percent of U.S. adults are
overweight or obese,” said Tate. “There are a
lot of people who do not choose to attend
face-to-face programs for any number of reasons,
from embarrassment to schedule constraints. The
Internet appears to provide people with an
alternative – not necessarily a better
alternative, but an alternative.”
The Internet combines the ability to disseminate
written information with the opportunity for
interaction through e-mail, bulletin boards or
chat rooms. Dieters can also access the Web on
their own schedule. Rapid increases in access to
the Internet have made it a viable and logical
mode for intervention; the number of adults who
use the Internet has surged from 9 percent to 56
percent of adults in the past four years, Tate
said.
Tate collaborated on the study with Rena R.
Wing, professor of psychiatry and human behavior
at the Brown Medical School, and Richard A.
Winett, professor of psychology at Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State University. The
study was supported by a grant from the Weight
Risk Investigators Study Council, a research
division of Knoll Pharmaceutical.
The study’s Web site was accessible on an
Intranet maintained by the network of hospitals
in which all of the study participants were
employed.
Researchers recommended participants follow a
standard weight loss regimen including a diet of
1,200 to 1,500 calories per day and a daily fat
intake of less than 20 percent of calories, and
gradually increase their physical activity to
burn a minimum of 1,000 calories per week.
