Objective: Internet weight loss programs have become widely available as alternatives to standard treatment, but few data are available on their efficacy. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a structured behavioral weight loss website (VTrim) vs. a commercial weight loss website (http://eDiets.com). Research Methods and Procedures: A randomized, controlled trial was conducted from February 2003 to March 2005, in 124 overweight and obese subjects ages 18 years and older with a BMI of 25 to 39.9 kg/m2 (mean age, 47 ± 9 years; BMI, 32 ± 3 kg/m2; 20% men). Analyses were performed for the 88 subjects who had complete follow‐up data. Participants were randomly assigned to 12‐month VTrim (n = 62) or http://eDiets.com (n = 62) intervention. VTrim participants had access to a therapist‐led structured behavioral weight loss program delivered on‐line. http://eDiets.com subjects had access to a self‐help commercial on‐line weight loss program. Body weight, social support, and use of website components were measured at 0, 6, and 12 months. Results: Repeated‐measures analyses showed that the VTrim group lost significantly more weight than the http://eDiets.com group at 6 months (8.3 ± 7.9 kg vs. 4.1 ± 6.2 kg; p = 0.004) and maintained a greater loss at 12 months (7.8 ± 7.5 kg vs. 3.4 ± 5.8 kg; p = 0.002). More participants in the VTrim group maintained a 5% weight loss goal (65% vs. 37.5%; p = 0.01) at 12 months. Discussion: An on‐line, therapist‐led structured behavioral weight loss website produced greater weight loss than a self‐help commercial website. Because commercial sites have great potential public health impact, future research should investigate the feasibility of incorporating a more structured behavioral program into a commercial application.

Results: There were no significant differences among the groups in weight loss (mean Ϯ SD) from baseline to 18 months (7.6 Ϯ 7.3 kg vs. 5.5 Ϯ 8.9 kg vs. 5.1 Ϯ 6.5 kg, p ϭ 0.23 for the IS, M-IPS, and F-IPS, respectively). Discussion: Participants assigned to an internet-based weight maintenance program sustained comparable weight loss over 18 months compared with individuals who continued to meet face-to-face. Therefore, the internet appears to be a viable medium for promoting long-term weight maintenance.

OBJECTIVE:The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a weight maintenance program conducted over the Internet. DESIGN: Longitudinal, clinical behavioral weight loss trial with 6-month in-person behavioral obesity treatment followed by a 12-month maintenance program conducted both in-person (frequent in-person support; F-IPS, minimal in-person support; M-IPS) and over the Internet (Internet support; IS). SUBJECTS: A total of 122 healthy, overweight adults (age ¼ 48.4 AE 9.6, BMI ¼ 32.2 AE 4.5 kg=m 2 , 18 male) MEASUREMENTS: Body weight, dietary intake, energy expended in physical activity, attendance, self-monitoring, comfort with technology. RESULTS: Results (n ¼ 101) showed that weight loss did not differ by condition during treatment (8.0 AE 5 vs 11 AE 6.5 vs 9.8 AE 5.9 kg, P ¼ 0.27 for IS, M-IPS and F-IPS, respectively). The IS condition gained significantly more weight than the F-IPS group during the first 6 months of weight maintenance ( þ 2.2 AE 3.8 vs 0 AE 4 kg, P < 0.05) and sustained a significantly smaller weight loss than both in-person support groups at the 1 y follow-up ( 7 5.7 AE 5.9 vs 7 10.4 AE 9.3 vs 7 10.4 AE 6.3 kg, P < 0.05 for IS, M-IPS and F-IPS, respectively). Attendance at maintenance meetings was greater for the F-IPS than the IS condition over the 1 y maintenance program (54 vs 39%, P ¼ 0.04). Acceptability of assigned condition was higher for subjects in the F-IPS than IS condition. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that Internet support does not appear to be as effective as minimal or frequent intensive in-person therapist support for facilitating the long-term maintenance of weight loss.

Supplementation of an Internet weight-loss treatment with monthly in-person meetings did not result in greater weight losses over 12 months. Dynamic, socially supportive, and interactive elements of the Web site may have obviated the need for further interpersonal behavioral counseling.

Objective: The overall goal of the study was to understand the accuracy of self-reported weight over a 6-month Web-based obesity program. Materials and Methods: As part of a larger study, subjects (n = 323; 93% female; 28% African American) were randomized to a 6-month Internet-based behavioral weight loss program with weekly group meetings delivered either: (1) entirely by online synchronous chats or (2) by a combination of online chats plus monthly in-person group sessions. Observed weights were obtained at 0 and 6 months for all participants. Self-reported weights were submitted weekly to the study Web site. Differences in Observed and Reported weights were examined by gender, race, and condition. Results: Observed and Reported weight were significantly correlated at 0 and 6 months (r = 0.996 and 0.996, ps < 0.001 respectively). However, Reported weight underestimated Observed weight by 0.86 kg (p < 0.001) at 6 months. Further, there was a significant weight loss effect (p < 0.001) with those losing more weight more accurately estimating their Reported weight at 6 months. Additionally, 6-month Reported weight change differed from Observed weight change (difference = 0.72 kg, p < 0.001), with weight change using Reported weights estimating a slightly larger weight loss than Observed weights. Conclusions: In general, the accuracy of selfreported weight is high for individuals participating in an Internet-based weight loss treatment program. Accuracy differed slightly by amount of weight lost and was not improved with periodic in-person assessment. Importantly, weight change by self-report was comparable to observed, suggesting that it is suitable for Web-based obesity treatment.

This study examined the effectiveness of a series of Web-based, multimedia tutorials on methods of human body composition analysis. Tutorials were developed around four body composition topics: hydrodensitometry (underwater weighing), dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, bioelectrical impedance analysis, and total body electrical conductivity. Thirty-two students enrolled in the course were randomly assigned to learn the material through either the Web-based tutorials only ("Computer"), a traditional lecture format ("Lecture"), or lectures supplemented with Web-based tutorials ("Both"). All students were administered a validated pretest before randomization and an identical posttest at the completion of the course. The reliability of the test was 0.84. The mean score changes from pretest to posttest were not significantly different among the groups (65.4 plus minus 17.31, 78.82 plus minus 21.50, and 76 plus minus 21.22 for the Computer, Both, and Lecture groups, respectively). Additionally, a Likert-type assessment found equally positive attitudes toward all three formats. The results indicate that Web-based tutorials are as effective as the traditional lecture format for teaching these topics.

More than 76 million persons become ill from foodborne pathogens in the UnitedStates each year. To reduce these numbers, food safety education efforts need to be targeted at not only adults, but school children as well. The middle school grades are ideal for integrating food safety education into the curriculum while simultaneously contributing to national and state education standards in science, technology, and family and consumer sciences. For this project, a multimedia, self-paced online resource for delivering a food safety curriculum to middle school children was developed. Animated characters were used to deliver the lesson content. The application also included video segments, quiz feedback, and interactive games and activities. The effectiveness of the Web site was evaluated using validated cognitive and attitudinal assessment tools, and by comparing student cognitive gains to individual student learning styles. Participants were recruited from 6 middle schools in 5 states, totaling 217 students (20 sixth graders, 157 seventh graders, and 40 eighth graders). The results show that students had statistically significant modest gains in pretest to posttest knowledge and enjoyed using the Web site. The 6th grade students had significantly lower pretest to posttest improvement compared to 7th and 8th grade students, suggesting that this program may not be appropriate for this grade level. Furthermore, the results indicate that this Web-based computer application meets the needs of varying individual student learning styles.

The effectiveness of, and student attitudes toward, an online Food Safety and Regulation course (WEB) were compared with lecture (LECTURE) and combined lecture/online (COMBINED) courses. All students took identical pre‐tests, post‐tests, and attitude assessments. No significant differences were detected in pre‐test scores. Post‐test results for WEB, LECTURE, and COMBINED groups were 65.9±3.02, 67.1±2.62, and 73.5±2.59 (mean±SEM), respectively. After controlling for the pretest, the COMBINED score was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than the LECTURE and WEB scores. Some student attitude scores in the LECTURE and COMBINED groups were better than the WEB group. The results indicate that students perform as well in the Web‐based course as the lecture‐based course and that student performance is maximized by combining online and lecture methods.