Abstract
BackgroundMany overweight people find it difficult to maintain weight loss after attending a weight reduction programme. Self-weighing and telephone support are known to be useful methods for self-monitoring for weight loss. We examined the effectiveness of an SMS-text messaging based weight maintenance programme to encourage regular self-weighing in adults who had completed a 12 week commercial weight loss programme.MethodsRandomised controlled trial of 380 obese or overweight men and women. The intervention group (N = 190) received a single maintenance support phone call and SMS-text based weight maintenance messages over 12 weeks to encourage regular self-weighing after completing their weight loss programme. The primary outcome was change in weight at 9 months follow up.ResultsOur sample (N = 380) had a mean age of 47.4 years (SD 13.4), mean baseline weight and BMI of 93.1 kg (16.1) and 34.4 kg/m2 (5.0) respectively, as well as majority female (87.3 %) and White British (80.0 %). Using intention to treat analysis both groups regained weight at 9 months follow up; the intervention group regained an average of 1.36 kg while the control group regained 1.81 kg. Adjusting for covariates resulted in a mean difference of 0.45 kg (95 % CI −0.78, 1.67) favouring the intervention group at 9 month follow up.ConclusionsWe found no evidence that an SMS based weight maintenance intervention encouraging adults to weigh themselves weekly prevented weight regain at 3 or 9 months after completing a commercial weight loss programme.Trial RegistrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN47845106.
Highlights
Many overweight people find it difficult to maintain weight loss after attending a weight reduction programme
In the UK the rates of obesity have more than doubled in the last 25 years, and being overweight has become the norm for adults [1], but obesity is associated with a range of long-term medical conditions [2]
Health Survey for England 2009 data showed that nearly a quarter of men and women were obese [3]
Summary
Many overweight people find it difficult to maintain weight loss after attending a weight reduction programme. Health Survey for England 2009 data showed that nearly a quarter of men and women were obese [3]. To address this in the UK, 12 week commercial and NHS provided weight management programmes are frequently available and free to people who are overweight or obese. These have been shown to produce weight loss [4,5,6,7], but weight regain is common following weight loss programmes [8].
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