Web-based interventions alone or supplemented with peer-led support or professional email counseling for weight loss and weight maintenance in women from rural communities: results of a clinical trial

Objective. this trial compared the effectiveness of a web-based only (wo) intervention with web-based supplemented by peer-led discussion (wd) or professional email counseling (we) across 3 phases to achieve weight loss and weight maintenance in women from underserved rural communities. methods. 301 women (bmi of 28-45 kg/m2) randomly assigned to groups participated in guided weight loss (baseline to 6 months),guided weight loss and maintenance (6 to 18 months),and self-managed weight maintenance (18 to 30 months). results. retention was 88.7%,76.5%,and 71.8% at 6,18,and 30 months,respectively. intent-to-treat analyses demonstrated no group differences in change in weight within any phases. at 6 months,observed mean (sd) weight loss was 5.1 (6.0) kg in wo,4.1 (5.6) kg in wd,and 6.0 (6.3) kg in we,with 42%,38%,and 51%,respectively,meeting ≥ 5% weight loss. these proportions dropped by a third after phase 2 with no further change during phase 3. conclusion. web-based interventions assisted women from rural communities in achieving 6-month weight loss,with weight regain by half at 30 months. no group differences were potentially due to the robust nature of the web-based intervention. trial registration. this trial is registered with clinicaltrials.gov nct01307644. © 2017 patricia a. hageman et al.