Effectiveness of web-based feedback interventions for people with overweight and obesity: systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

oleh: Carmen Varela, Camila Oda-Montecinos, Ana Andrés, Carmina Saldaña

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: BMC 2021-06-01

Deskripsi

Plain English summary The number of people with overweight and obesity has tripled worldwide since 1975. Obesity has become a serious problem for public health. For that reason, the design of innovative treatments for people with overweight and obesity is an urgent need. This systematic review and network meta-analysis assesses the effectiveness of innovative interventions, concretely web-based programs for overweight and obesity, comparing them with traditional behavioral treatments and wait-list groups. Both web-based and traditional behavioral treatments were classified according to three feedback characteristics: personalization, frequency, and provider (human versus machine). The literature has suggested that a frequent feedback is an indicator of good prognosis in traditional interventions. The results of this study showed that for web-based interventions, an intensive and personalized feedback provided by a healthcare professional was the treatment option that led to a better prognosis. The second and third option were web-based guided self-hep programs and traditional self-help programs. These interventions empowered the participants, providing more sense of self-efficacy. Web-based minimal-contact programs, web-based self-help programs and wait-list were the last options. An accurate ranking of available treatment options only can be provided by a network meta-analysis, the statistic technique used in this study.