A Technology-Mediated Behavioral Weight Gain Prevention Intervention for College Students: Controlled, Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract

BackgroundBoth men and women are vulnerable to weight gain during the college years, and this phenomenon is linked to an increased risk of several chronic diseases and mortality. Technology represents an attractive medium for the delivery of weight control interventions focused on college students, given its reach and appeal among this population. However, few technology-mediated weight gain prevention interventions have been evaluated for college students.ObjectiveThis study examined a new technology-based, social media-facilitated weight gain prevention intervention for college students.MethodsUndergraduates (n =58) in two sections of a public university course were allocated to either a behavioral weight gain prevention intervention (Healthy Weight, HW; N=29) or a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination awareness intervention (control; N=29). All students were enrolled, regardless of initial body weight or expressed interest in weight management. The interventions delivered 8 lessons via electronic newsletters and Facebook postings over 9 weeks, which were designed to foster social support and introduce relevant educational content. The HW intervention targeted behavioral strategies to prevent weight gain and provided participants with a Wi-Fi-enabled scale and an electronic physical activity tracker to facilitate weight regulation. A repeated-measures analysis of variance was conducted to examine within- and between-group differences in measures of self-reported weight control practices and objectively measured weight. Use of each intervention medium and device was objectively tracked, and intervention satisfaction measures were obtained.ResultsStudents remained weight stable (HW: −0.48+1.9 kg; control: −0.45+1.4 kg), with no significant difference between groups over 9 weeks (P =.94). However, HW students reported a significantly greater increase in the number of appropriate weight control strategies than did controls (2.1+4.5 vs −1.1+3.4, respectively; P =.003) and there was no increase in inappropriate weight control behaviors (P =.11). More than 90% of students in the HW arm opened the electronic newsletters each week, and the average number of Facebook interactions (comments and likes) per student each week was 3.3+1.4. Each self-monitoring device was initialized by 90% of HW students. On average, they used their physical activity tracker for 23.7+15.2 days and their Wi-Fi scale for 14.1+13.1 days over the 9 weeks. HW students rated the intervention favorably.ConclusionsThe short-term effect of this technology-based weight gain prevention intervention for college students is promising and merits evaluation over a longer duration to determine whether engagement and behavioral improvements positively affect weight outcomes and can be maintained.

Effectiveness of lifestyle interventions for preventing harmful weight gain among young adults from lower socioeconomic status and ethnically diverse backgrounds: a systematic review

“…As three studies did not report the mean change in body weight and two were not lifestyle programme based , they were excluded from the review. This left 30 studies, from 33 papers , included in the review. The PRISMA flow diagram for the review process of study selection is shown in Fig .…”

“…All studies were published between 1998 and 2017 (Table ). Of these 30 studies, 27 were RCTs and the remaining three were pre‐test and post‐test or quasi‐experimental studies . Twenty‐two were conducted in the United States of America (USA), four were conducted in Australia, two in Canada and one each in the United Kingdom and Sweden .…”

“…The majority of studies incorporated single or multiple lifestyle and behavioural approaches, i.e. theory and/or education based strategies, self‐regulation, goal setting and peer/social support (Table ). Intervention duration varied, ranging from 4 weeks to 2 years.…”

“…To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review assessing the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions for preventing weight gain in this vulnerable population. It is an encouraging progression that since 2015, 11 new interventions have been completed, most of which recruit and report the ethnicity and/or SES of their participants . This improvement should be acknowledged, with a previous systematic review calling for increased representativeness of participants to enhance the external validity .…”

Self-Care Habits of Undergraduate Nursing Students at University of Lahore

“…Majority of young university students use extreme amount of sugar-sweetened refreshments and less utilization of recommended amount of whole grains, natural products, vegetables, calcium and drink fresh fruit juice daily. These wrong habits cause obesity, diabetes and other health problems among students (West et al, 2016).…”