Wearable devices may not increase weight loss when added to standard weight loss interventions
Although young adults lost weight, middle-aged and older adults did not sustain 6-month results in the long term.
Wearing a device that tracked and provided feedback on physical activity was associated with significantly less weight loss than a standard behavioral intervention among young adults with a body mass index (BMI) between 25 and 40 kg/m2, a study found.
Researchers compared a standard behavioral weight loss intervention (standard intervention, n=233) compared to one augmented with a wearable device (enhanced intervention, n=237) by randomly assigning study participants from October 2010 to October 2012, with data collection completed by December 2014.
All participants were placed on a low-calorie diet, were prescribed increases in physical activity, and had group counseling sessions. At 6 months, both interventions added telephone counseling sessions, text message prompts, and access to study materials on a website. Also at 6 months, participants randomly assigned to the standard intervention group began self-monitoring diet and physical activity using a website, and those randomly assigned to a wearable device used it and an accompanying web interface to monitor diet and physical activity.
Results appeared in the Sept. 20 JAMA.
Weight change at 24 months differed significantly between groups, with an estimated mean weight loss of 3.5 kg (95% CI, 2.6 to 4.5 kg) in the wearable device intervention group and 5.9 kg (95% CI, 5.0 to 6.8 kg) in the standard intervention group (difference, 2.4 kg; 95% CI, 1.0 to 3.7 kg; P=0.002). In both groups, body composition, fitness, physical activity, and diet improved significantly, but no significant differences were seen between groups.
Wearable fitness trackers may not offer an advantage over standard behavioral weight loss approaches, the authors wrote. “Although this study showed weight loss across the 24-month intervention in young adults, similar to trials of middle-aged and older-aged adults, the benefits achieved at 6 months were not fully sustained long term. Thus, regardless of age, challenges remain to preventing or minimizing weight regain following initial weight loss in adults,” they concluded.