It’s tough to lose weight and maintain the loss. Now, a new study shows that counseling over the telephone or internet, also known as telehealth, may help people in rural areas maintain weight loss for the long-term.
The obesity epidemic disproportionately affects rural communities in the United States. Yet, these areas tend to have less access than urban areas to weight-loss treatments that could help keep hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and other health problems at bay. Better programs are needed, researchers say.
For the current study, researchers started with a face-to-face weight loss program that included more than 500 adults. The participants achieved an average weight loss of about 18 pounds. Next, the researchers explored whether telehealth could make a difference in maintaining the weight loss. They randomly assigned the participants to individual phone counseling, group phone counseling, or email education. Over the course of a year they underwent 18 weight loss sessions and kept daily food-intake records.
Participants who had received one-on-one phone counseling achieved the most success in maintaining their weight loss after counseling ended. They regained nearly five pounds over 18 months. The group who received group counseling regained six pounds during the same period and those who received email support regained nine pounds. The study, funded by NHLBI, appeared in JAMA Network Open. The article is accompanied by an editorial from an NIH-funded researcher.