Abstract
BackgroundThe internet is a potentially promising medium for delivering weight loss interventions. The current study sought to explore factors that might influence primary care patients’ initial uptake and continued use (up to four-weeks) of such programmes to help inform the development of novel, or refinement of existing, weight management interventions.MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 patients purposively sampled based on age, gender and BMI from a single rural general practice. The interviews were conducted 4 weeks after recruitment at the general practice and focused on experiences with using one of three freely available weight loss websites. Thematic Analysis was used to analyse the data.ResultsFindings suggested that patients were initially motivated to engage with internet-based weight loss programmes by their accessibility and novelty. However, continued use was influenced by substantial facilitators and barriers, such as time and effort involved, reaction to prompts/reminders, and usefulness of information. Facilitation by face-to-face consultations with the GP was reported to be helpful in supporting change.ConclusionsAlthough primary care patients may not be ready yet to solely depend on online interventions for weight loss, their willingness to use them shows potential for use alongside face–to-face weight management advice or intervention. Recommendations to minimise barriers to engagement are provided.
Highlights
The internet is a potentially promising medium for delivering weight loss interventions
Such interventions can range from educational websites focused on information provision such as NHS Choices, to the more intensive van Beurden et al BMC Obesity (2018) 5:7 mobile applications that offer interactive food diary and weight monitoring tools such as MyFitnessPal
E-Health has been found to be effective for a range of health behaviours including smoking, reducing cholesterol levels, lowering high blood pressure [17, 18], and facilitating weight loss [14, 19]
Summary
The internet is a potentially promising medium for delivering weight loss interventions. Self-directed interventions delivered via digital platforms (eHealth) are plentiful and could provide a low cost and accessible alternative to existing treatment options in primary care [14, 15] Such interventions can range from educational websites focused on information provision such as NHS Choices, to the more intensive van Beurden et al BMC Obesity (2018) 5:7 mobile applications that offer interactive food diary and weight monitoring tools such as MyFitnessPal. With 87.9% of adults in the UK using the internet and the 68.7% increase in prevalence of recent internet use among adults aged 65 to 74 (currently at 74.1%) between 2011 and 2016 [16], these interventions have the potential of reaching a substantial proportion of the UK population. Service providers are positive about the use of eHealth in terms of its potential to provide continuity of care and opportunities for auditing the provided service [9]
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