Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30038502›Full record

ArticleJournal of multidisciplinary healthcare2018

Professional dietary coaching within a group chat using a smartphone application for weight loss: a randomized controlled trial.

Kiyoji Tanaka, Hiroyuki Sasai, Kyohsuke Wakaba, Shin Murakami, Miyuki Ueda, Fumio Yamagata, Masao Sawada, Kazuhiro Takekoshi

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
22citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
4.3field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

22 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 37 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Kiyoji TanakaFaculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan, tanaka.kiyoji.ft@u.tsukuba.ac.jp.
Hiroyuki SasaiDepartment of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Kyohsuke WakabaGraduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.
Shin MurakamiGraduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.
Miyuki UedaLife Science Department, FiNC Inc., Tokyo, Japan.
Fumio YamagataGenki Plaza Medical Center for Health Care, Tokyo, Japan.
Masao SawadaGenki Plaza Medical Center for Health Care, Tokyo, Japan.
Kazuhiro TakekoshiFaculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.
University of Tsukuba · JPGenki Plaza Medical Center for Health Care · JPTokyo University of the Arts · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo test the effectiveness of professional dietary coaching via group chat using a smartphone application (app) for weight loss.

methodsThis study was a 12-week, assessor-blind, parallel-group, waitlist-controlled randomized trial that included a 4-week follow-up period (trial registration, UMIN000025340). Data were collected between October 2016 and May 2017 and were analyzed between July 2017 and January 2018. Participants were 112 overweight, obese, or abdominally obese Japanese adults, aged 20 to 64 years, with at least one cardiometabolic risk factor. Participants were randomized to the coaching group (n=75) or control group (n=37), with a ratio of 2:1. The coaching group received a commercial weight loss program characterizing dietary coaching by a certified nutrition professional via group chat delivered on a smartphone app. Participants posted photos of every meal into the group chat, and the certified professional gave immediate direct feedback and encouragement. The primary outcome was an 8-week weight change. Secondary outcomes included 8-week changes in cardiometabolic risk factors. The frequency of meal photo uploads was recorded as a measure of adherence.

resultsOf the 112 randomized participants, 93 (83.0%) and 81 (72.3%) completed 8-week and 12-week visits, respectively. Intention-to-treat analysis demonstrated significantly larger 8-week weight loss in the coaching group (-1.4 kg; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -2.0, -0.8 kg) than that in the control group (-0.1 kg; 95% CI: -0.6, 0.4 kg). Significantly larger improvements in triglyceride and glycated hemoglobin A1c levels were also obtained in the coaching group. These benefits, except for the triglyceride level, were maintained until week 12. The frequent upload of meal photos was associated with a larger 8-week weight loss in a dose-response fashion (

conclusionThis smartphone-delivered commercial weight loss program characterized as dietary coaching via group chat resulted in modest but significant weight loss. Facilitating participants' active involvement in the program is necessary to achieve greater health benefits.

Indexed as

meal photo uploadspecific health guidancetechnology-enhanced program

Identifiers

PMID30038502
PMCPMC6052929
OpenAlexW2883684149

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

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.