Online diabetes prevention programs are as effective as in-person sessions for weight loss, study finds

This study is one of the first to assess weight outcomes in an online diabetes prevention program in comparison to in-person delivery of such a program.BACKGROUNDSome 84 million, or one in three, U.S. adults have prediabetes, a condition in which one ’s blood sugar levels are consistently higher than normal, though not high enough to be type 2 diabetes. Without any intervention, up to 30 percent of adults with prediabetes can develop type 2 diabetes within five years, and up to 70 percent can develop it over their lifetime. Yet type 2 diabetes risk can be lowered by as much as 58 percent with lifestyle interventions such as diabetes prevention programs.METHODThe trial enrolled 268 obese or overweight veterans with prediabetes in an online program. In a separate trial, 273 were enrolled in an in-person program, and 114 were enrolled in MOVE! This study included only veterans, but participants were recruited from four large centers and were diverse. Participants were not randomly placed in a group and recruitment processes differed between the online and in-person programs.The online program, developed by Omada Health, consisted of virtual groups of participants; live e-coaches who monitored group interactions and provided the participants with feedback via phone and private online messages; weekly educational modules on healthy eating and exercise; and wireless scales to record participant weights. The in-person program consisted of eight to 22 group-based face-to-face sessi...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news