Identification of determinants for weight reduction in overweight and obese children and adolescents

Abstract

We conducted a pilot trial of electronic technology integrated into the treatment of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese. A total of 30 patients (mean age 14 years, mean BMI 32.7 kg/m(2)) were admitted to our hospital to participate in a structured treatment and teaching programme (STTP). To assess physical activity and eating habits, a mobile motion sensor board (MoSeBo) or a sensor for physical activity, integrated into a mobile phone with digital camera (DiaTrace) was used. Over an average period of four days of monitoring, the mean intensity (15.4 activity units) and duration of physical activity (267 min/d) were recorded with the mobile sensors. The mean time spent walking was 64 min/d, running 11 min/d, cycling 24 min/d and car driving 21 min/d. There were significant differences (P < 0.001) between self-reported physical activity and objective assessment: in general the duration of physical activity documented by children and adolescents was much higher than the objective assessment. Similarly, the real caloric intake was higher than the self-estimates (P = 0.085). A multivariate analysis showed that the following variables were significantly associated with weight reduction in the hospital STTP (R-squared = 0.59): high motivation, intrafamilial conflicts, duration of physical activity assessed with the MoSeBo/DiaTrace system, and the body fat mass at onset of therapy. All children and adolescents included in the trial completed it. Although the MoSeBo/DiaTrace system was used for a relatively short period in each patient, the high acceptance demonstrated that it could be integrated into therapy easily.

Usability of Mobile Phones in Physical Activity–Related Research: A Systematic Review

“…Importantly, no major issues were reported concerning the use of mobile applications as a PA assessment tool in these studies. 66,73,75,91,[93][94][95] Mobile applications were also used to successfully promote PA. 51,99,100 Of the mobile application-based studies that promoted PA, every study with the exception of one used this feature to facilitate self-monitoring. Participants in a few studies in which the mobile applications were used for self-monitoring exceeded or achieved a level of PA consistent with common PA guidelines (10,000 steps per day or 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous PA per week).…”

“…Another study 73 also used a mobile application in conjunction with external sensors to track PA data. Similarly, 4 studies took advantage of the mobile phone's built-in accelerometer 67,74 or accelerometer-based mobile applications 93,94 to capture PA data. Two studies 66,72 administered ecological momentary assessment (EMA) via a mobile application and mobile phone calls.…”

Advances in exercise, physical activity and diabetes mellitus

“…Using pre‐programmed algorithms, DiaTrace analyses the type, intensity and duration of physical activity. This system has been proved reliable in previous studies, as the accuracy rates of identification were 99.38% for walking, 99.72% for running, 97.01% for cycling and 98.79% for driving (22).…”

Nachhaltige Wirkung eines Aktivitätssensors auf die Gewichtsabnahme im Rahmen eines strukturierten ambulanten Schulungsprogramms

“…Im Rahmen der Adipositastherapie bei Kindern und Jugendlichen kommt der intrinsischen Motivation eine erhebliche Bedeutung zu. Diese ist zu Beginn einer therapeutischen Maßnahme relativ hoch, lässt jedoch im Therapieverlauf oft nach (38).…”