Poncela-Casasnovas Julia, Spring Bonnie, McClary Daniel, Moller Arlen C, Mukogo Rufaro, Pellegrini Christine A, Coons Michael J, Davidson Miriam, Mukherjee Satyam, Nunes Amaral Luis A
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA HHMI, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.
Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
J R Soc Interface. 2015 Mar 6;12(104):20140686. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2014.0686.
The obesity epidemic is heightening chronic disease risk globally. Online weight management (OWM) communities could potentially promote weight loss among large numbers of people at low cost. Because little is known about the impact of these online communities, we examined the relationship between individual and social network variables, and weight loss in a large, international OWM programme. We studied the online activity and weight change of 22,419 members of an OWM system during a six-month period, focusing especially on the 2033 members with at least one friend within the community. Using Heckman's sample-selection procedure to account for potential selection bias and data censoring, we found that initial body mass index, adherence to self-monitoring and social networking were significantly correlated with weight loss. Remarkably, greater embeddedness in the network was the variable with the highest statistical significance in our model for weight loss. Average per cent weight loss at six months increased in a graded manner from 4.1% for non-networked members, to 5.2% for those with a few (two to nine) friends, to 6.8% for those connected to the giant component of the network, to 8.3% for those with high social embeddedness. Social networking within an OWM community, and particularly when highly embedded, may offer a potent, scalable way to curb the obesity epidemic and other disorders that could benefit from behavioural changes.
肥胖流行正在全球范围内加剧慢性病风险。在线体重管理（OWM）社区有可能以低成本促进大量人群的体重减轻。由于对这些在线社区的影响知之甚少，我们在一个大型国际OWM项目中研究了个体和社交网络变量与体重减轻之间的关系。我们研究了一个OWM系统的22419名成员在六个月期间的在线活动和体重变化，特别关注社区内至少有一个朋友的2033名成员。使用赫克曼样本选择程序来考虑潜在的选择偏差和数据审查，我们发现初始体重指数、自我监测的依从性和社交网络与体重减轻显著相关。值得注意的是，在我们的体重减轻模型中，网络嵌入度越高，该变量的统计显著性越高。六个月时的平均体重减轻百分比呈分级增加，从非网络成员的4.1%，到有几个（两到九个）朋友的成员的5.2%，到连接到网络巨型组件的成员的6.8%，再到具有高社会嵌入度的成员的8.3%。OWM社区内的社交网络，尤其是高度嵌入时，可能提供一种有效、可扩展的方式来遏制肥胖流行以及其他可能受益于行为改变的疾病。
