Equivalent weight loss for weight management programs delivered by phone and clinic

“…Data from our recently completed 18 month randomized equivalence trial, which compared identical behavioral weight management interventions delivered by traditional face-to-face group meetings or by phone conference calls (10), provided an opportunity to evaluate long-term patterns of weight change and factors associated with weight change patterns in a sample of overweight and obese middle-age adults. Specifically, the objectives of these analyses were to (a) identify patterns of weight change over 18 months, and (b) to assess the association of baseline participant characteristics (age, sex, race/ethnicity, intervention group, household income, self-efficacy for exercise barriers and weight management) and intervention adherence factors (behavioral sessions completed, compliance with the diet and exercise program, weekly data reports completed) with weight change pattern.…”