Intervention use and action planning in a web-based computer-tailored weight management program for overweight...

Area of Science:

• Health behavior change interventions
• Digital health and e-health
• Weight management and obesity prevention

Background:

• Numerous online interventions exist for health behavior change, yet their utilization and the effectiveness of specific planning tools remain unclear.
• Understanding user engagement with these digital tools is crucial for optimizing health outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify user characteristics associated with engagement in an online, computer-tailored self-regulation intervention for weight gain prevention.
• To evaluate the quality of goals and action plans generated by users of the online planning tools.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial compared a tailored intervention with a generic information website.
• The tailored intervention incorporated self-regulation techniques (feedback, goal setting, action planning, monitoring).
• 539 overweight adults participated; intervention use was tracked via server data; baseline characteristics (physical activity, diet, motivation, self-regulation skills) were self-reported.

Main Results:

• Intervention use declined significantly after initial modules.
• Lower fat intake and planning for physical activity changes were associated with initial engagement.
• Higher restrained eating and lower proactive coping skills predicted repeated use, but overall planning tool usage was moderate (5%-55%) with variable plan quality (20%-75%).

Conclusions:

• Psychological factors like self-regulation and action planning influence engagement with online weight gain prevention interventions.
• Intervention uptake and the quality of user-generated plans were suboptimal, particularly for coping strategies.
• Further research is needed to improve the promotion and quality of planning components in online health interventions.