MONDAY, Sept. 24, 2018 (HealthDay News) — For overweight/obese veterans with prediabetes, participation is higher for online Diabetes Prevention Programs (DPPs), but weight loss is similar for online and in-person DPPs, according to a study published online Sept. 24 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Tannaz Moin, M.D., from the VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System, and colleagues examined online DPP weight loss and participation outcomes. Data were included for 268 obese/overweight veterans with prediabetes enrolled in online DPP from 2013 to 2014 and were compared with in-person program participants between 2012 and 2014 (273 participants enrolled in in-person DPP; 114 participants enrolled in the Veterans Administration’s standard of care weight loss program [MOVE!]).
The researchers found that 56 percent of those enrolled in online DPP completed eight or more modules. The mean weight change with online DPP was −4.7 and −4.0 kg at six and 12 months, respectively. Of participants completing one or more sessions/module, the likelihood of completing eight or more was higher for online DPP than in-person DPP or MOVE! (87 percent versus 59 and 55 percent, respectively). Compared with MOVE! participants, online and in-person DPP participants lost significantly more weight at six and 12 months; no significant difference in weight change was seen between online and in-person DPP.
“An intensive, multifaceted online DPP intervention may be as effective as in-person DPP and help expand reach to those at risk,” the authors write.
Two authors disclosed financial ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.
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