The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, compared two groups of overweight people who had at least one risk factor that could lead to type 2 diabetes, including a high BMI; a family history of diabetes, high cholesterol and blood pressure; and an age of 45 or older. The 92 participants were divided into two groups. Both followed basic diet plans, but one group had e-counseling available to them.
The basic online diet plans included a weight loss tutorial and weekly tips and links as well as online weight loss resources. The enhanced program allowed the study participants to communicate with certified weight loss counselors. Participants e-mailed counselors their calorie and fat intake, exercise activity log and were able to ask counselors questions through a Web diary. They received weekly, personalized e-mails from counselors providing information and support.At the end of the 12-month period, researchers found the e-counseling group had lost 4.8 percent of their original body weight, doubling the weight loss percentage of the Internet-only group. The two groups did not have any significant differences in their blood sugar levels.
The purpose behind the study writes one of its designers, Deborah F. Tate, PhD of the Brown University School of Medicine, was to harness the success of online diet plans specifically for those at-risk for diabetes. "[The Internet] has been used for diabetes education and self-management, and we have used the Internet to deliver a behavioral weight loss program with favorable short-term results. However, the efficacy of Internet-based weight loss programs and specifically e-mail counseling has not been used in a population at risk of diabetes nor evaluated for a year-long weight loss intervention."
Though Tate and her colleagues admit that more research is needed in this field, they are encouraged by their findings: "The weight loss observed in the behavioral e-counseling group at 12 months is encouraging because weight losses of similar magnitude are known to reduce risk for diabetes."