Consistency With and Disengagement From Self-monitoring of Weight, Dietary Intake, and Physical Activity in a Technology-Based Weight Loss Program: Exploratory Study

• Published in: JMIR formative research 2022-02, Vol.6 (2), p.e33603-e33603
• Main Authors: Carpenter, Chelsea A, Eastman, Abraham, Ross, Kathryn M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cardiovascular disease; Ethnicity; Exercise; Hispanic people; Intervention; Obesity; Original Paper; Overweight; Questionnaires; Smartphones; Websites; Weight control
• ISSN: 2561-326X; 2561-326X
• DOI: 10.2196/33603

Digital self-monitoring tools offer promise to improve adherence to self-monitoring of weight and weight-related behaviors; however, less is known regarding the patterns of participant consistency and disengagement with these tools. This study characterizes the consistency of use and time to disengagement with digital self-monitoring tools during a 6-month weight loss intervention and investigates whether the provision of phone-based intervention improved self-monitoring adherence. Participants were 54 adults with overweight or obesity (mean age 49.6 years, SD 12.4 years; mean BMI 32.6 kg/m , SD 3.2 kg/m ) enrolled in a pilot trial assessing the impact of self-monitoring technology (Fitbit Zip, Aria scale, and smartphone app), with and without additional interventionist contact, on weight loss. All participants received weight loss education and were asked to self-monitor weight, dietary intake, and physical activity daily throughout the 6-month program. Consistency was defined as the number of weeks that participants adhered to self-monitoring recommendations (7 out of 7 days). Disengagement was defined as the first of 2 consecutive weeks that the 7-day self-monitoring adherence goal was not met. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to examine differences in consistency and disengagement by behavioral targets. t tests (2-tailed) and Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine whether providing additional interventionist contact would lead to significant improvements in consistency and time to disengagement from self-monitoring tools, respectively. Linear regressions were used to examine associations between consistency, time to disengagement, and weight loss. Participants consistently self-monitored physical activity for more weeks (mean 17.4 weeks, SD 8.5 weeks) than weight (mean 11.1 weeks, SD 8.5 weeks) or dietary intake (mean 10.8 weeks, SD 8.7 weeks; P