Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine
Effectiveness of a digital weight management program on weight-bias internalization, self-compassion, quality of life, well-being, and body appreciation: secondary outcomes from a randomized controlled trial
By Palacios AM, Cardel MI, Watts CQ and 8 others.
Abstract
Background
While evidence suggests psychosocial support benefits well-being, physical health, and weight management, the impact of psychosocial health within digital behavioral weight management programs (compared to traditional in-person models) remains underexplored.
Purpose
To evaluate the effectiveness of a digital commercial program (DCP) compared to standard nutrition guidance (SNG) on some weight-related psychosocial outcomes: weight-bias internalization (WBI), self-compassion, weight-related quality of life (WQOL), well-being, and body appreciation (BA).
Methods
A 6-month randomized controlled trial (NCT05648344) was conducted among 376 US adults living with overweight/obesity. n = 187 were randomized to a DCP (WeightWatchers®), and n = 189 received SNG. Intention-to-treat analyses using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), adjusted for sex, age, race, ethnicity, education, body mass index (BMI), and baseline values, were completed to assess changes in outcomes.