Department of Internal Medicine, Division of General Medicine, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, 6410 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Int J Med Inform. 2010 Jan;79(1):5-13. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2009.10.003. Epub 2009 Nov 27.
To describe social support for weight loss shared by members of a large Internet weight loss community.
We conducted a mixed-methods study with surveys (n=193) and interviews (n=13) of community members along with a content analysis of discussion forum messages (n=1924 messages). Qualitative data were analyzed for social support themes.
Survey respondents were primarily white (91.4%) and female (93.8%) with mean age 37.3 years and mean body mass index 30.9. They used forums frequently, with 56.8% reading messages, 36.1% replying to messages, and 18.5% posting messages to start a discussion related to weight loss on a daily or more frequent basis. Major social support themes were encouragement and motivation, mentioned at least once by 87.6% of survey respondents, followed by information (58.5%) and shared experiences (42.5%). Subthemes included testimonies, recognition for success, accountability, friendly competition, and humor. Members valued convenience, anonymity, and the non-judgmental interactions as unique characteristics of Internet-mediated support.
This Internet weight loss community plays a prominent role in participants' weight loss efforts. Social support within Internet weight loss communities merits further evaluation as a weight loss resource for clinicians to recommend to patients. Understanding these communities could improve how health professionals evaluate, build, harness, and manipulate social support for weight loss.
描述一个大型互联网减肥社区成员分享的减肥社交支持。
我们对社区成员进行了混合方法研究，包括调查（n=193）和访谈（n=13），并对论坛消息进行了内容分析（n=1924 条消息）。对定性数据进行了社会支持主题的分析。
调查参与者主要为白人（91.4%）和女性（93.8%），平均年龄为 37.3 岁，平均体重指数为 30.9。他们经常使用论坛，56.8%的人阅读消息，36.1%的人回复消息，18.5%的人每天或更频繁地发布消息，以发起与减肥相关的讨论。主要的社会支持主题是鼓励和激励，至少有 87.6%的调查参与者提到了这一点，其次是信息（58.5%）和共享经验（42.5%）。子主题包括证言、成功认可、问责制、友好竞争和幽默。成员们重视互联网支持的便利性、匿名性和非评判性互动，认为这些是其独特的特点。
这个互联网减肥社区在参与者的减肥努力中扮演着重要的角色。互联网减肥社区内的社交支持值得进一步评估，作为临床医生向患者推荐的减肥资源。了解这些社区可以改善健康专业人员评估、建立、利用和操纵减肥社交支持的方式。
