@Article{info:doi/10.2196/mhealth.2164,
author="Thomas, J Graham
and Wing, Rena R",
title="Health-E-Call, a Smartphone-Assisted Behavioral Obesity Treatment: Pilot Study",
journal="JMIR Mhealth Uhealth",
year="2013",
month="Apr",
day="17",
volume="1",
number="1",
pages="e3",
keywords="obesity; behavior; weight loss; mobile phone; technology",
abstract="Background: Individual and group-based behavioral weight loss treatment (BWL) produces average weight loss of 5-10{\%} of initial body weight, which improves health and wellbeing. However, BWL is an intensive treatment that is costly and not widely available.  Smartphones may be a useful tool for promoting adherence to key aspects of BWL, such as self-monitoring, thereby facilitating weight loss while reducing the need for intensive in-person contact. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate smartphones as a method of delivering key components of established and empirically validated behavioral weight loss treatment, with an emphasis on adherence to self-monitoring. Methods: Twenty overweight/obese participants (95{\%} women; 85{\%} non-Hispanic White; mean age 53.0, SE 1.9) received 12-24 weeks of behavioral weight loss treatment consisting of smartphone-based self-monitoring, feedback, and behavioral skills training. Participants also received brief weekly weigh-ins and paper weight loss lessons. Results: Average weight loss was 8.4kg (SE 0.8kg; 9{\%}, SE 1{\%} of initial body weight) at 12 weeks and 10.9kg (SE 1.1kg; 11{\%}, SE 1{\%} of initial body weight) at 24 weeks. Adherence to the self-monitoring protocol was 91{\%} (SE 3{\%}) during the first 12 weeks and 85{\%} (SE 4{\%}) during the second 12 weeks. Conclusions: Smartphones show promise as a tool for delivering key components of BWL and may be particularly advantageous for optimizing adherence to self-monitoring, a cornerstone of BWL. ",
issn="2291-5222",
doi="10.2196/mhealth.2164",
url="http://mhealth.jmir.org/2013/1/e3/",
url="https://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.2164",
url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25100672"
}