Abstract
Objective To evaluate whether individuals following a weight loss program based on a mobile application, wireless scale, and nutritional program but no face-to-face care can achieve clinically significant weight loss in a large cohort. Design Retrospective observational analysis. Setting. China from October 2016 to December 2017. Participants. Mobile application users with a minimum of 2 weights (baseline and ≥35 days). Intervention. A commercial (Weijian Technologies) weight loss program consisting of a dietary replacement, self-monitoring using a wireless home scale, and frequent guidance via mobile application. Main Outcome. Mean weight change around 42, 60, 90, and 120 days after program initiation with subgroup analysis by gender, age, and frequency of use. Results 251,718 individuals, with a mean age of 37.3 years (SD: 9.86) (79% female), were included with a mean weight loss of 4.3 kg (CI: ±0.02) and a mean follow-up of 120 days (SD: 76.8 days). Mean weight loss at 42, 60, 90, and 120 d was 4.1 kg (CI: ±0.02), 4.9 kg (CI: ±0.02), 5.6 kg (CI: ±0.03), and 5.4 kg (CI: ±0.04), respectively. At 120 d, 62.7% of participants had lost at least 5% of their initial weight. Both genders and all usage frequency tertiles showed statistically significant weight loss from baseline at each interval (P < 0.001), and this loss was greater in men than in women (120 d: 6.5 vs. 5.2 kg; P < 0.001). The frequency of recording (categorized as high-, medium-, or low-frequency users) was associated with greater weight loss when comparing high, medium, and low tertile use groups at all time intervals investigated (e.g., 120 d: −8.6, −5.6, and −2.2 kg, respectively; P < 0.001). Conclusions People following a commercially available hybrid weight loss program using a mobile application, wireless scale, and nutritional program without face-to-face interaction on average achieved clinically significant short- and midterm weight loss. These results support the implementation of comparable technologies for weight control in a large population.
Highlights
Obesity is a worldwide epidemic that continues to grow in scale [1]
MetaWell. e MetaWell program (Weijian Technologies Inc., Hangzhou, China) is an entirely remote weight loss program, without face-to-face interaction, that consists of a free mobile application combined with a wireless home scale and nutrition program. e MetaWell application is available in the Google Play and Apple App stores
Individuals defined as obese at baseline, most likely to benefit from weight loss, [16] experienced greater weight loss. e scale and duration of this study contribute to the growing evidence base that mobile applications may be a useful tool in combating obesity at a population level with the distinct advantage of being widely accessible, relatively low cost, and without the constraint of face-to-face interaction [5]
Summary
Obesity is a worldwide epidemic that continues to grow in scale [1]. Even moderate weight loss (5% of body weight) can translate to meaningful disease prevention [3]. Effective lifestyle programs have been developed to combat obesity; these programs are difficult to scale and are costly and location-specific [4]. Digital health weight loss programs have attractive features of easy dissemination, relatively low cost, and scalability [5]. If these tools are able to effectively facilitate weight loss in individuals, they could be scaled to help curb the obesity epidemic that has coincided with a dramatic rise in smartphone use and Internet connectivity [6]
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