Trial reportThe international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity2012
Economic evaluation of a weight control program with e-mail and telephone counseling among overweight employees: a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 3 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evaluation of the Aspects of Digital Interventions That Successfully Support Weight Loss: Systematic Review With Component Network Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Using QALYs in telehealth evaluations: a systematic review of methodology and transparency.BMC health services research · 2014Pooled it
- Cost-effectiveness of the ReDIRECT/counterweight-plus weight management programme to alleviate symptoms of long COVID.Nature communications · 2025Trial
- Effectiveness of a theory-based multicomponent intervention (Movement Coaching) on the promotion of total and domain-specific physical activity: a randomised controlled trial in low back pain patients.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2017Trial
- Cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of a Web-based or print-delivered tailored intervention to promote physical activity among adults aged over fifty: an economic evaluation of the Active Plus intervention.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2014Trial
- Economic evaluation of a web-based tailored lifestyle intervention for adults: findings regarding cost-effectiveness and cost-utility from a randomized controlled trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2014Trial
- A scoping review of digital workplace wellness interventions in low- and middle-income countries.PloS one · 2023Article
- What are the economic dimensions of occupational health and how should they be measured? A qualitative study.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Costs of implementing a behavioral weight-loss and lifestyle-change program for individuals with serious mental illnesses in community settings.Translational behavioral medicine · 2015Article
- A lesson in business: cost-effectiveness analysis of a novel financial incentive intervention for increasing physical activity in the workplace.BMC public health · 2013Article
- The impact of digital health interventions on health-related outcomes in the workplace: A systematic review.Digital healthReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDistance lifestyle counseling for weight control is a promising public health intervention in the work setting. Information about the cost-effectiveness of such interventions is lacking, but necessary to make informed implementation decisions. The purpose of this study was to perform an economic evaluation of a six-month program with lifestyle counseling aimed at weight reduction in an overweight working population with a two-year time horizon from a societal perspective.
methodsA randomized controlled trial comparing a program with two modes of intervention delivery against self-help. 1386 Employees from seven companies participated (67% male, mean age 43 (SD 8.6) years, mean BMI 29.6 (SD 3.5) kg/m2). All groups received self-directed lifestyle brochures. The two intervention groups additionally received a workbook-based program with phone counseling (phone; n=462) or a web-based program with e-mail counseling (internet; n=464). Body weight was measured at baseline and 24 months after baseline. Quality of life (EuroQol-5D) was assessed at baseline, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months after baseline. Resource use was measured with six-monthly diaries and valued with Dutch standard costs. Missing data were multiply imputed. Uncertainty around differences in costs and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios was estimated by applying non-parametric bootstrapping techniques and graphically plotting the results in cost-effectiveness planes and cost-effectiveness acceptability curves.
resultsAt two years the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was €1009/kg weight loss in the phone group and €16/kg weight loss in the internet group. The cost-utility analysis resulted in €245,243/quality adjusted life year (QALY) and €1337/QALY, respectively. The results from a complete-case analysis were slightly more favorable. However, there was considerable uncertainty around all outcomes.
conclusionsNeither intervention mode was proven to be cost-effective compared to self-help.
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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.