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Reality television helped adults at risk for diabetes to lose weight
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Watching evidence-based diabetes prevention programming in the form of reality television could encourage weight loss for adults at risk for diabetes, according to research published in Obesity.
Offered alone or backed by online behavioral support, in-home delivery of shows fashioned in the popular format helped participants lose weight in a study by UnitedHealth Center for Health Reform and Comcast.
“The vast reach of existing video media channels to engage high-risk individuals and those less likely to seek programs outside of the home underscores the immense potential for television-based lifestyle support interventions to influence the health and behaviors of millions of Americans,” the researchers wrote.
Ronald T. Ackermann, MD, MPH, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and colleagues recruited 306 adults with diabetes risk factors from Philadelphia and Knoxville, Tenn., to a 5-month randomized trial to determine the effectiveness of two home-based strategies.
A 16-session lifestyle intervention — mirroring the Diabetes Prevention Program lifestyle intervention, including education, behavioral goals and problem-solving strategies — was delivered via video-on-demand cable television.
The episodes could be viewed alone or combined with Web-based lifestyle support, available via television, computer, tablet or smartphone. Participants’ body weight was evaluated using repeated measures longitudinal linear regression, with substitution of missing observations.
At 5 months, 265 (87%) participants viewed at least one episode, and 110 (36%) viewed nine or more; weight data at 5 months was available for 262 (86%) participants who completed the measurement. Based on intention-to-treat analysis, and with substitution, mean weight loss for both treatment groups combined was 3.3% (95% CI, 0.7-5), regardless of intervention participation; no differences between randomized groups were observed (P=.19).
Participants who viewed nine or more episodes achieved greater weight loss, with an average of 4.9% (95% CI, 2.1-6.5).
“Although it is important to explore interventions to reduce sedentary time, it is also thoughtful to consider whether the time already spent in front of a TV or other video devices can be leveraged to promote healthier lifestyles and weight loss,” the researchers wrote.
Disclosure: The study was funded by the UnitedHealth Center for Health Reform and Modernization and Comcast. Several researchers are employed at the companies.
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