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Cited by 263Mobile Health and mHealth ApplicationsObesity and Health PracticesDigital Mental Health Interventions

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 40 of the 40 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 28 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Tweets, Apps, and Pods: Results of the 6-Month Mobile Pounds Off Digitally (Mobile POD) Randomized Weight-Loss Intervention Among Adults

Open access
Turner-McGrievy, Gabrielle, Tate, Deborah·2011·Journal of Medical Internet Research
DOI 10.2196/jmir.1841PMC PMC3278106
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Previous interventions have shown promising results using theory-based podcasts to deliver a behavioral weight-loss intervention. OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to examine whether a combination of podcasting, mobile support communication, and mobile diet monitoring can assist people in weight loss. METHODS: In this 6-month, minimal contact intervention, overweight (n = 96, body mass index 32.6 kg/m(2)) adults were recruited through television advertisements and email listservs and randomly assigned to Podcast-only or Podcast+Mobile groups. Both groups received 2 podcasts per week for 3 months and 2 minipodcasts per week for months 3-6. In addition to the podcasts, the Podcast+Mobile group was also instructed to use a diet and physical activity monitoring application (app) on their mobile device and to interact with study counselors and other participants on Twitter. RESULTS: Weight loss did not differ by group at 6 months: mean -2.7% (SD 5.6%) Podcast+Mobile, n = 47; mean -2.7% (SD 5.1%) Podcast, n = 49; P = .98. Days/week of reported diet monitoring did not differ between Podcast+Mobile (mean 2.3, SD 1.9 days/week) and Podcast groups (mean 1.9, SD 1.7 days/week; P = .28) but method of monitoring did differ. Podcast+Mobile participants were 3.5 times more likely than the Podcast group to use an app to monitor diet (P = .01), whereas the majority of Podcast participants reported using the Web (14/41, 34%) or paper (12/41, 29%). There were more downloads per episode in the Podcast+Mobile group (1.4/person) than in the Podcast group (1.1/person; P < .001). The number of podcasts participants reported downloading over the 6-month period was significantly moderately correlated with weight loss in both the Podcast+Mobile (r = -.46, P = .001) and the Podcast (r = -.53, P < .001) groups. Podcast+Mobile participants felt more user control at 3 months (P = .02), but not at 6 months, and there was a trend (P = .06) toward greater elaboration among Podcast+Mobile participants. There were significant differences in reported source of social support between groups. More Podcast participants relied on friends (11/40, 28% vs 4/40, 10%; P = .045) whereas Podcast+Mobile participants relied on online sources (10/40, 25% vs 0/40; P = .001). CONCLUSIONS: Results confirm and extend previous findings showing a minimally intensive weight-loss intervention can be delivered via podcast, but prompting and mobile communication via Twitter and monitoring app without feedback did not enhance weight loss. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01139255; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01139255 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/625OjhiDy).

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

In a 6-month randomized trial among 96 overweight/obese adults, a podcast-only weight-loss intervention produced modest weight loss, and adding a mobile diet-monitoring app plus Twitter prompts/support did not improve weight loss. Both groups lost a mean 2.7% of body weight at 6 months (P = .98 between groups).

Key findings

Weight loss did not differ by group at 6 months: mean –2.7% (SD 5.6%) Podcast+Mobile, n = 47; mean –2.7% (SD 5.1%) Podcast, n = 49; P = .98. Most participants did not achieve a 5% weight loss, the level described as clinically meaningful.

  • Days/week of reported diet monitoring did not differ between Podcast+Mobile (mean 2.3, SD 1.9) and Podcast groups (mean 1.9, SD 1.7; P = .28), but method of monitoring did: Podcast+Mobile participants were 3.5 times more likely to use an app to monitor diet (P = .01), whereas most Podcast participants used the Web (14/41, 34%) or paper (12/41, 29%).
  • Podcast downloads were higher in the Podcast+Mobile group (1.4/person vs 1.1/person; P < .001), and reported number of podcasts downloaded over 6 months was moderately correlated with weight loss in both Podcast+Mobile (r = –.46, P = .001) and Podcast (r = –.53, P < .001) groups.
  • Social support source differed: more Podcast participants relied on friends (11/40, 28% vs 4/40, 10%; P = .045), while more Podcast+Mobile participants relied on online sources (10/40, 25% vs 0/40; P = .001). Podcast+Mobile participants felt more user control at 3 months (P = .02), but not at 6 months, and there was a trend toward greater elaboration at 6 months (P = .06).

Methods

Six-month minimal-contact randomized trial; overweight/obese adults (BMI 25–45 kg/m2, 18–60 years) were recruited in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, via television advertisements and email listservs, required an Internet-capable mobile device, and were randomized to Podcast-only (n = 49) or Podcast+Mobile (n = 47). Both groups received 2 podcasts/week for 3 months and 2 minipodcasts/week for months 3–6; Podcast+Mobile was also instructed to use the FatSecret Calorie Counter app and Twitter, with the study coordinator sending 2 messages/day.

  • Weight was measured at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months; measures included online questionnaires, 2 unannounced 24-hour dietary recalls, Paffenbarger Physical Activity Questionnaire, Weight Efficacy Life-Style Questionnaire, Eating Behavior Inventory, information-processing variables, weekly self-report, and objective podcast downloads. Analyses used intention-to-treat with baseline observation carried forward except for some 6-month-only variables assessed in completers; tests included t tests, repeated-measures ANOVA, logistic regression, chi-square, and Pearson correlation in SPSS 16.0.

Limitations

Stated: the study population was mostly white and female; the 6-month duration allowed examination of initial weight loss but not weight-loss maintenance; groups differed at baseline in prior health-related podcast/app experience; and noncompleters were younger and less likely to be white.

  • Stated: the intervention did not include study counselor feedback or tailoring of messages/information, and the self-monitoring app and Twitter were poorly used; Twitter was not viewed as useful for weight-loss efforts (mean 3.4, SD 1.8, out of 7), and posting declined over time.
  • Evident from the text: neither participants nor investigators were blinded to treatment assignment; dietary monitoring and Twitter use were largely self-reported; and months 3–6 overlapped with US holidays while the intervention dose was reduced, which the authors suggest may have affected outcomes.

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Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.2196/jmir.1841

Cites

40 of 40 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

0 of 28 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

Show all 80 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 31
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 24
46 of 46

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The observed weight loss in the Podcast and Podcast+Mobile groups is attributable to the podcast intervention rather than to other factors such as regression to the mean, seasonal effects, or measurement.

    “Results confirm and extend previous findings showing a minimally intensive weight-loss intervention can be delivered via podcast”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The provision of a calorie/fat gram book to the Podcast group did not offset the absence of the mobile app and Twitter components, so the comparison between groups isolates the effect of the mobile components.

    “The Podcast group—but not the Podcast+Mobile group—received a book with calorie and fat gram amounts of food to assist them in monitoring their dietary intake.”
    “but prompting and mobile communication via Twitter and monitoring app without feedback did not enhance weight loss.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Self-reported method of diet monitoring accurately reflects the actual method used.

    “Podcast+Mobile participants were 3.5 times more likely than the Podcast group to use an app to monitor diet (P = .01)”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Self-reported days per week of diet monitoring accurately reflects actual monitoring frequency.

    “Days/week of reported diet monitoring did not differ between Podcast+Mobile (mean 2.3, SD 1.9 days/week) and Podcast groups (mean 1.9, SD 1.7 days/week; P = .28) but method of monitoring did differ.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Without the intervention, participants would have gained weight during the holiday period.

    “the fact that only minimal weight loss occurred during months 3–6 in the present study (approximately –0.25 kg or –0.55 lb) demonstrates that this intervention may have worked to prevent holiday weight gain, versus promoting additional weight loss during this vulnerable period.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The intervention was low cost.

    “This intervention is an approach that could be easily disseminated, as there was very minimal contact with participants, everything was delivered remotely, and it was low cost.”
6 of 6

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Social-support rating scale has two different starting points

    Minor

    The methods describe a 1-to-7-point scale for perceived support, but the results describe it as rated from 0 to 7.

  • Initial Twitter cohort sizes differ between sections

    Minor

    The methods say the four initial cohorts had 11-12 people each, while the discussion says they had 10-11. Four cohorts of at most 11 also cannot accommodate all 47 Podcast+Mobile participants.

2 of 2

Citations

Cites

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Show all 40 references

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Pasanisi, F, 2001, Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis, 11, 401
  2. Smith, CF, 2000, Diabetes Spectr, 13, 142

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Metadata

Authors
Turner-McGrievy, G., & Tate, D.
Affiliations
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
ORCID
Tate, Deborah
Venue
Journal of Medical Internet Research
Publisher
JMIR Publications Inc.
Published
2011-12-20
Volume
13
Issue
4
Pages
e120
ISSN
1438-8871 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.2196/jmir.1841
PMC
PMC3278106
OpenAlex
W2081384957
Semantic Scholar
2e8fdafa8ca23f5bfab181efc641e34dbdd1ad7f
Cited by
263
References
40
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 26 · 2017: 28 · 2016: 30 · 2015: 34 · 2014: 28 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 5
FWCI
29.07
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Journal of Medical Internet Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity and Health Practices
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
Keywords
weight loss, podcasts, mobile health, Twitter, social support, user control, elaboration, overweight adults, digital health interventions, user engagement, user satisfaction
MeSH terms
Adult, Diet, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Motor Activity, Internet, Electronic Mail, Cell Phone, Webcasts as Topic, Blogging, Weight Reduction Programs

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