ArticleObesity (Silver Spring, Md.)2016
Guideline-concordant weight-loss programs in an urban area are uncommon and difficult to identify through the internet.
Article in Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 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
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A systematic review of commercial weight loss programmes' effect on glycemic outcomes among overweight and obese adults with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2016Pooled it
- Direct comparisons of commercial weight-loss programs on weight, waist circumference, and blood pressure: a systematic review.BMC public health · 2016Pooled it
- Screening, Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Staging of Obesity in Adults: Standards of Care in Overweight and Obesity-2026.BMJ open diabetes research & care · 2026Review
- 8. Obesity and Weight Management for the Prevention and Treatment of Diabetes: Standards of Care in Diabetes-2026.Diabetes care · 2026Review
- 8. Obesity and Weight Management for the Prevention and Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes: Standards of Care in Diabetes-2025.Diabetes care · 2025Review
- 8. Obesity and Weight Management for the Prevention and Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes: Standards of Care in Diabetes-2024.Diabetes care · 2024Review
- 8. Obesity and Weight Management for the Prevention and Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes: Standards of Care in Diabetes-2023.Diabetes care · 2023Review
- Affordability and features of home scales for self-weighing.Clinical obesity · 2021Article
- Commercial Weight Loss Programs in the Management of Obesity: an Update.Current obesity reports · 2021Review
- Physicians certified by the American Board of Obesity Medicine provide evidence-based care.Clinical obesity · 2021Article
- Minority and low-income patients are less likely to have a scale for self-weighing in their home: A survey in primary care.Clinical obesity · 2020Article
- Evaluating an insurer-based health coaching program: Impact of program engagement on healthcare utilization and weight loss.Preventive medicine reports · 2018Article
- Treatment of Obesity in Patients With Diabetes.Diabetes spectrum : a publication of the American Diabetes Association · 2017Article
- Commercial Programs' Online Weight-Loss Claims Compared to Results from Randomized Controlled Trials.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2017Article
- Dietary and Behavioral Approaches in the Management of Obesity.Gastroenterology clinics of North America · 2016Review
- Screening, Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Staging of Obesity in Adults: Standards of Care in Overweight and Obesity-2026.Diabetes, obesity, and cardiometabolic CAREReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo determine the reliability of Internet-based information on community-based weight-loss programs and grade their degree of concordance with 2013 American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, and The Obesity Society weight-management guidelines.
methodsAn online search was conducted for weight-loss programs in the Maryland-Washington, DC-Virginia corridor. Content analysis was performed to abstract program components from their websites, and then 80 programs were randomly selected for a telephone survey to verify this information. Reliability of Internet information was determined in comparison with telephone interview responses.
resultsOf the 191 programs, 1% were graded as high, 8% as moderate, and 91% as low with respect to guideline concordance based on website content. Fifty-two programs participated in the telephone survey (65% response rate). Program intensity, diet, physical activity, and use of behavioral strategies were underreported on websites as compared to description of these activities during the phone interview. Within the subsample, 6% of programs were graded as high based on website information, whereas 19% were graded as high after the telephone interview.
conclusionsMost weight-loss programs in an urban, mid-Atlantic region do not currently offer guideline-concordant practices and fail to disclose key information online, which may make clinician referrals challenging.
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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.