A Facebook-Delivered Weight Loss Intervention Using Open Enrollment: Randomized Pilot Feasibility Trial

Behavioral weight loss programs typically enroll 12-40 people into groups that then suffer from declining engagement over time. Web-based patient communities, on the other hand, typically offer no limits on capacity and membership is fluid. This model may be useful for boosting engagement in behavioral weight loss interventions, which could lead to better outcomes.

In this study, we aimed to examine the feasibility and acceptability of continuously enrolling participants into a Facebook-delivered weight loss intervention for the first 8 of 16 weeks relative to the same intervention where no new participants were enrolled after randomization.

We conducted a randomized pilot trial to compare a Facebook weight loss group that used open enrollment with a group that used closed enrollment on feasibility and acceptability in adults with BMI 27-45 kg/m². The feasibility outcomes included retention, engagement, and diet tracking adherence. We described the percentage loss of ≥5% weight in both groups as an exploratory outcome. We also explored the relationship between total volume of activity in the group and weight loss. The participants provided feedback via web-based surveys and focus groups.

Randomized participants (68/80, 85% women) were on average, aged 40.2 (SD 11.2) years with a mean BMI of 34.4 (SD 4.98) kg/m². We enrolled an additional 54 participants (50/54, 93% female) in the open enrollment condition between weeks 1 and 8, resulting in a total group size of 94. Retention was 88% and 98% under the open and closed conditions, respectively. Randomized participants across conditions did not differ in engagement (P=.72), or diet tracking adherence (P=.42). Participant feedback in both conditions revealed that sense of community was what they liked most about the program and not enough individualized feedback was what they liked the least. Weight loss of ≥5% was achieved by 30% (12/40) of the participants randomized to the open enrollment condition and 18% (7/40) of the participants in the closed enrollment condition. Exploratory analyses revealed that the open condition (median 385, IQR 228-536.5) had a greater volume of engagement than the closed condition (median 215, IQR 145.5-292; P=.007). Furthermore, an increase of 100 in the total volume of engagement in the Facebook group each week was associated with an additional 0.1% weekly weight loss among the randomized participants (P=.02), which was independent of time, individual participant engagement, and sociodemographic characteristics.

Open enrollment was as feasible and acceptable as closed enrollment. A greater volume of engagement in the Facebook group was associated with weight loss, suggesting that larger groups that produce more engagement overall may be beneficial. Future research should examine the efficacy of the open enrollment approach for weight loss in a fully powered randomized trial.

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02656680; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02656680.