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AWeb-based weight-loss program helped overweight participants lose anaverage of 21 lb in 6 months, according to an ongoing, multicenter studydesigned by researchers at the University ofVermont.
Participants in this pilot program, called VTrim, lost more than twice asmuch weight as those in a similar study who used the commercial weight-lossWeb site eDiets and lost an average of 9 lb.
"I felt like it was a win-win result," says lead researcherBeth Casey Gold, RD, clinical coordinator of the university's BehavioralWeight Management Program. "Our research clearly showed that it'spossible to run a successful weight-loss program on the Internet."
The study included 120 Vermont residents, with appropriate computer access,who were at least 18 years old and had a BMI of 25–40.
The VTrim design largely replicated the behavioral weight-loss program thatthe university has used successfully in its research over the past decade. Itis based on the fundamental principles of weight control: Eat less, move more,and create an environment that sets up participants to succeed.
Like participants in the traditional program, people in the VTrim onlineprogram were asked to keep a food journal, track exercise, record theiremotions related to eating and exercise, and develop a support network to keepthem motivated. Instead of face-to-face group meetings and counselingsessions, however, regular group "chats" among about 15participants were scheduled weekly, and individual feedback from counselorswas communicated over the Web.
"The goal was to see if we could achieve the same results as with ourin-person format, and we did, which was really exciting," Gold says.
At least one benefit of an online weight-loss program would be access forpeople living in rural areas or those who shy away from face-to-faceweight-loss counseling, says Deborah Tate, PhD, of the University of NorthCarolina, who also researches Web-based weight-loss programs.
"The Internet is one of the few tools we've had that really lets usprovide something with the intensity of a clinical program but getsweight-loss treatment out to more people," Tate says.
In her own research, conducted while she was at Brown University, Tate andher colleagues found that behavioral counseling and feedback, handled viae-mail, were particularly important factors in helping individuals at risk fortype 2 diabetes lose weight with an Internet-basedprogram.1
Gold and her colleagues also attribute their impressive results to VTrim'semphasis on detailed individual feedback from trained therapists and to itsintense social-support component.
As a consequence, moving the university's weight-loss program to the Webdid not reduce costs, because both the online and traditional programs rely onthis hands-on professional care. University of Vermont charges $535 for itstraditional 6-month program, and would charge the same for the online version,Gold says. Most commercial sites would have to spend considerably more thanthey do now to supply individualized professional therapy—and would behard-pressed to match this component without insurance reimbursements orparticipants willing to spend more money.
Neither Gold nor Tate discounts the usefulness of this research, however,for the burgeoning crop of commercial online weight-loss services like eDiets,which a previous study suggested was less effective than a print-basedweight-loss program ("Print Works Better Than Web for Weight Loss,Research Suggests," DOC News, October 2004, page 19).
"Nine pounds [lost] in 6 months is pretty respectable" for theeDiets participants, says Gold. "This is a good start for commercialprograms to learn from our research in terms of what they can add to theirsites and what resources should be emphasized in order to increase averageweight loss." 
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