Research

Adherence

Remote behavioral weight-loss interventions (telephone, web, email) achieve clinically significant weight loss (mean -4.6 kg) comparable to in-person support (-5.1 kg) over 24 months in primary care settings.

You can lose significant weight using remote tools (phone, web, email) without needing to attend in-person group sessions. The study showed that a remote program resulted in nearly the same weight loss (-4.6 kg) as an in-person program (-5.1 kg) over two years. To succeed, you must log in weekly, use the provided tracking tools, and respond to automated reminders.

WeakSupportsHIGH confidence
At 24 months, the mean change in weight from baseline was ... -4.6 kg in the group receiving remote support only ... and -5.1 kg in the group receiving in-person support ... The change in weight from baseline did not differ significantly between the two intervention groups.
Lawrence J. Appel et al. · New England Journal of Medicine · 2011

Why this rating

Randomized, controlled trial with a large sample size (N=415) and long duration (24 months).

Source

Comparative Effectiveness of Weight-Loss Interventions in Clinical Practice

Lawrence J. Appel et al. · New England Journal of Medicine · 2011

DOI 10.1056/nejmoa1108660

rct · n=415Cited 788×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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