Trial reportJournal of medical Internet research2012
An internet-based virtual coach to promote physical activity adherence in overweight adults: randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in Journal of medical Internet research, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 65 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Role of a Virtual Coach in Improving Adherence to an Activity Program for Overweight Adults
Mobile Health Technology to Promote Physical Activity in Persons With Parkinson Disease
Treating Comorbid Depression During Care Transitions Using Relational Agents
Who cites it
65 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 187 citations in OpenAlex.
- Conversational Agents for Body Weight Management: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Pooled it
- Do physical activity interventions combining self-monitoring with other components provide an additional benefit compared with self-monitoring alone? A systematic review and meta-analysis.British journal of sports medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Promoting Physical Activity Through Conversational Agents: Mixed Methods Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Pooled it
- Effective behavior change techniques to promote physical activity in adults with overweight or obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2021Pooled it
- Conversational Agents for Chronic Disease Self-Management: A Systematic Review.AMIA ... Annual Symposium proceedings. AMIA Symposium · 2020Pooled it
- Conversational agents in healthcare: a systematic review.Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA · 2018Pooled it
- Transtheoretical model stages of change for dietary and physical exercise modification in weight loss management for overweight and obese adults.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2014Pooled it
- The mobile health intervention for rural patients with atrial fibrillation a randomized controlled trial.International journal of cardiology · 2025Trial
- Influence of Fitness Apps on Sports Habits, Satisfaction, and Intentions to Stay in Fitness Center Users: An Experimental Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Trial
- Face-to-Face and Online Networks: College Students' Experiences in a Weight-Loss Trial.Journal of health communication · 2017Trial
- Feasibility of Smartphone-Based Education Modules and Ecological Momentary Assessment/Intervention in Pre-bariatric Surgery Patients.Obesity surgery · 2015Trial
- Acceptability and feasibility of a virtual counselor (VICKY) to collect family health histories.Genetics in medicine : official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics · 2015Trial
- Use of pragmatic community-based interventions to enhance recruitment and adherence in a randomized trial of Tai Chi for women with osteopenia: insights from a qualitative substudy.Menopause (New York, N.Y.) · 2014Trial
- Motivational interviewing in a Web-based physical activity intervention with an avatar: randomized controlled trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2014Trial
- Web-based intervention to promote physical activity by sedentary older adults: randomized controlled trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2013Trial
- Peer Coaching to Improve Diabetes Self-Management Among Low-Income Black Veteran Men: A Mixed Methods Assessment of Enrollment and Engagement.Annals of family medicineTrial
- Development of a Tailored Online Video-Based Assistant to Support Prenatal Screening Decisions in Couples With Limited Health Literacy: User-Centered Design Approach.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Systematic review of dynamically tailored eHealth interventions targeting physical activity and healthy diet in chronic disease.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
- Aging population challenges: enhancing healthy aging practices through virtual coaching systems.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Embodied conversational agents for shared decision-making: a scoping review protocol.BMJ open · 2025Article
5 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAddressing the obesity epidemic requires the development of effective, scalable interventions. Pedometers and Web-based programs are beneficial in increasing activity levels but might be enhanced by the addition of nonhuman coaching.
objectivesWe hypothesized that a virtual coach would increase activity levels, via step count, in overweight or obese individuals beyond the effect observed using a pedometer and website alone.
methodsWe recruited 70 participants with a body mass index (BMI) between 25 and 35 kg/m(2) from the Boston metropolitan area. Participants were assigned to one of two study arms and asked to wear a pedometer and access a website to view step counts. Intervention participants also met with a virtual coach, an automated, animated computer agent that ran on their home computers, set goals, and provided personalized feedback. Data were collected and analyzed in 2008. The primary outcome measure was change in activity level (percentage change in step count) over the 12-week study, split into four 3-week time periods. Major secondary outcomes were change in BMI and participants' satisfaction.
resultsThe mean age of participants was 42 years; the majority of participants were female (59/70, 84%), white (53/70, 76%), and college educated (68/70, 97%). Of the initial 70 participants, 62 completed the study. Step counts were maintained in intervention participants but declined in controls. The percentage change in step count between those in the intervention and control arms, from the start to the end, did not reach the threshold for significance (2.9% vs -12.8% respectively, P = .07). However, repeated measures analysis showed a significant difference when comparing percentage changes in step counts between control and intervention participants over all time points (analysis of variance, P = .02). There were no significant changes in secondary outcome measures.
conclusionsThe virtual coach was beneficial in maintaining activity level. The long-term benefits and additional applications of this technology warrant further study.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT00792207; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00792207 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/63sm9mXUD).
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.