Online behavioural counselling tool could be very effective for those who want to lose weight, according to a new survey.
By using the Positive Online Weight Reduction (POWeR)+ online programme with very brief support from practice staff, participants lost over one kg more averaged over 12 months and were more likely to maintain clinically important weight loss by 12 months.
POWeR+ -- an online behavioural intervention --runs with the help of brief contacts from a practice nurse. It teaches participants self-regulation and cognitive behavioural techniques to provide them with long-term, sustainable ways of forming healthy eating and exercise habits.
"Many people receiving the POWeR+ intervention were able to sustain weight loss over one year but also felt more enabled in managing their weight going forward, and fewer resorted to other activities such as commercial slimming programmes to lose weight," said Paul Little, Professor at University of Southampton in the study published in the journal The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology.
For the study, the researchers involved 818 people with a body mass index (BMI) over 30 who took part in 24 web-based sessions over six months.
They were randomly allocated to one of three groups - first, control - an existing online intervention that encourages healthier options. Second, POWeR+ with face-to-face support from a nurse, and third POWeR+ with remote very brief support from a nurse (on average three email contacts and one phone contact).
All patients were asked to come for appointments for weighing at six and also 12 months to see if weight loss was maintained.
They found that while people in all groups lost weight, the two groups receiving the POWeR+ intervention lost more.
(With Agency inputs)
