Gold Beth Casey, Burke Susan, Pintauro Stephen, Buzzell Paul, Harvey-Berino Jean
Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Vermont, 250 Carrigan Wing, 109 Carrigan Drive, Burlington, VT 05405, USA.
Obesity (Silver Spring). 2007 Jan;15(1):155-64. doi: 10.1038/oby.2007.520.
Internet weight loss programs have become widely available as alternatives to standard treatment, but few data are available on their efficacy. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a structured behavioral weight loss website (VTrim) vs. a commercial weight loss website (eDiets.com).
A randomized, controlled trial was conducted from February 2003 to March 2005, in 124 overweight and obese subjects ages 18 years and older with a BMI of 25 to 39.9 kg/m2 (mean age, 47 +/- 9 years; BMI, 32 +/- 3 kg/m2; 20% men). Analyses were performed for the 88 subjects who had complete follow-up data. Participants were randomly assigned to 12-month VTrim (n = 62) or eDiets.com (n = 62) intervention. VTrim participants had access to a therapist-led structured behavioral weight loss program delivered on-line. eDiets.com subjects had access to a self-help commercial on-line weight loss program. Body weight, social support, and use of website components were measured at 0, 6, and 12 months.
Repeated-measures analyses showed that the VTrim group lost significantly more weight than the eDiets.com group at 6 months (8.3 +/- 7.9 kg vs. 4.1 +/- 6.2 kg; p = 0.004) and maintained a greater loss at 12 months (7.8 +/- 7.5 kg vs. 3.4 +/- 5.8 kg; p = 0.002). More participants in the VTrim group maintained a 5% weight loss goal (65% vs. 37.5%; p = 0.01) at 12 months.
An on-line, therapist-led structured behavioral weight loss website produced greater weight loss than a self-help commercial website. Because commercial sites have great potential public health impact, future research should investigate the feasibility of incorporating a more structured behavioral program into a commercial application.
互联网减肥项目已广泛可用，作为标准治疗的替代方案，但关于其疗效的数据很少。本研究旨在调查结构化行为减肥网站（VTrim）与商业减肥网站（eDiets.com）的有效性。
2003年2月至2005年3月进行了一项随机对照试验，纳入124名年龄在18岁及以上、BMI为25至39.9kg/m²的超重和肥胖受试者（平均年龄47±9岁；BMI 32±3kg/m²；20%为男性）。对88名有完整随访数据的受试者进行分析。参与者被随机分配到为期12个月的VTrim干预组（n = 62）或eDiets.com干预组（n = 62）。VTrim参与者可以使用由治疗师主导的在线结构化行为减肥项目。eDiets.com受试者可以使用自助式商业在线减肥项目。在0、6和12个月时测量体重、社会支持和网站组件的使用情况。
重复测量分析显示，VTrim组在6个月时体重减轻显著多于eDiets.com组（8.3±7.9kg对4.1±6.2kg；p = 0.004），并在12个月时保持了更大的体重减轻（7.8±7.5kg对3.4±5.8kg；p = 0.002）。在12个月时，VTrim组更多参与者实现了5%的体重减轻目标（65%对37.5%；p = 0.01）。
一个由治疗师主导的在线结构化行为减肥网站比自助式商业网站产生了更大的体重减轻。由于商业网站对公众健康有巨大影响，未来的研究应调查将更结构化的行为项目纳入商业应用的可行性。
