E-Counseling Helps Pre-Diabetes Adults Lose Weight
Individuals who received e-counseling lost 4.8% of
their original body weight after participating
in the Internet program, almost double the weight
loss experienced by individuals who were not counseled.
Weekly e-mail counseling helped adults at risk
for type 2 diabetes lose more weight in a
year than similar
adults who followed an Internet weight loss program
without e-counseling, researchers report.
E-counseled individuals also had smaller waistlines
at the end of the program, but there were no
significant differences in blood sugar levels
between the two
groups and no data on whether the weight loss
in either group reduced the number of diabetes
cases.
"
The weight loss observed in the behavioral e-counseling
group at 12 months is encouraging because weight
losses of similar magnitude are known to reduce risk
for diabetes," say Deborah F. Tate, PhD, of
Brown University School of Medicine and colleagues.
Behavioral weight loss programs that feature
face-to-face counseling have been successful
in reducing diabetes
in the past, but such intensive interventions
are not always practical or welcomed by patients,
the
researchers said.
To test whether e-mail counseling might be
a viable alterative, Tate and colleagues
compared the effects
of e-counseling among 92 overweight or
obese adults with one or more other risk
factors
for
type 2
diabetes, like a family history of the
disease.
Half of the group participated in an Internet
weight loss program in which they were
asked to reduce
their calorie intake and increase their
exercise. Their
Internet guidance included an online
tutorial on weight loss, weekly tips and
links to
weight loss
resources and e-mail reminders to submit
their weight to the researchers each
week.
The other half of the group participated
in the same program but also corresponded
via
e-mail
with assigned
weight loss counselors during the program,
who provided weekly feedback, recommendations
and
support.
The researchers said that it is still
uncertain whether e-counseling would
have the same
benefit for many
adults at risk for type 2 diabetes,
including minorities and low-income
individuals,
since most participants
in the study were white, college-educated
and required to have computer access.
The study results appeared in the
April 9, 2003, issue of the Journal
of the
American Medical
Association and was supported by
the American Diabetes Association.
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