Long-term Weight Loss in a Primary Care-Anchored eHealth Lifestyle Coaching Program: Randomized Controlled Trial

Long-term weight loss in people living with obesity can reduce the risk and progression of noncommunicable diseases. Observational studies suggest that digital coaching can lead to long-term weight loss.

We investigated whether an eHealth lifestyle coaching program for people living with obesity with or without type 2 diabetes led to significant, long-term (12-month) weight loss compared to usual care.

In a randomized controlled trial that took place in 50 municipalities in Denmark, 340 people living with obesity with or without type 2 diabetes were enrolled from April 16, 2018, to April 1, 2019, and randomized via an automated computer algorithm to an intervention (n=200) or a control (n=140) group. Patients were recruited via their general practitioners, the Danish diabetes organization, and social media. The digital coaching intervention consisted of an initial 1-hour face-to-face motivational interview followed by digital coaching using behavioral change techniques enabled by individual live monitoring. The primary outcome was change in body weight from baseline to 12 months.

Data were assessed for 200 participants, including 127 from the intervention group and 73 from the control group, who completed 12 months of follow-up. After 12 months, mean body weight and BMI were significantly reduced in both groups but significantly more so in the intervention group than the control group (-4.5 kg, 95% CI -5.6 to -3.4 vs -1.5 kg, 95% CI -2.7 to -0.2, respectively; P<.001; and -1.5 kg/m², 95% CI -1.9 to -1.2 vs -0.5 kg/m², 95% CI -0.9 to -0.1, respectively; P<.001). Hemoglobin A_1c was significantly reduced in both the intervention (-6.0 mmol/mol, 95% CI -7.7 to -4.3) and control (-4.9 mmol/mol, 95% CI -7.4 to -2.4) groups, without a significant group difference (all P>.46).

Compared to usual care, digital lifestyle coaching can induce significant weight loss for people living with obesity, both with and without type 2 diabetes, after 12 months.

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03788915; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03788915.