Rates and Determinants of Uptake and Use of an Internet Physical Activity and Weight Management Program in Office and Manufacturing Work Sites in England: Cohort Study

Abstract

Background Internet-based physical activity (PA) and weight management programs have the potential to improve employees’ health in large occupational health settings. To be successful, the program must engage a wide range of employees, especially those at risk of weight gain or ill health.Objective The aim of the study was to assess the use and nonuse (user attrition) of a Web-based and monitoring device–based PA and weight management program in a range of employees and to determine if engagement with the program was related to the employees’ baseline characteristics or measured outcomes.MethodsLongitudinal observational study of a cohort of employees having access to the MiLife Web-based automated behavior change system. Employees were recruited from manufacturing and office sites in the North West and the South of England. Baseline health data were collected, and participants were given devices to monitor their weight and PA via data upload to the website. Website use, PA, and weight data were collected throughout the 12-week program.Results Overall, 12% of employees at the four sites (265/2302) agreed to participate in the program, with 130 men (49%) and 135 women (51%), and of these, 233 went on to start the program. During the program, the dropout rate was 5% (11/233). Of the remaining 222 Web program users, 173 (78%) were using the program at the end of the 12 weeks, with 69% (153/222) continuing after this period. Engagement with the program varied by site but was not significantly different between the office and factory sites. During the first 2 weeks, participants used the website, on average, 6 times per week, suggesting an initial learning period after which the frequency of website log-in was typically 2 visits per week and 7 minutes per visit. Employees who uploaded weight data had a significant reduction in weight (−2.6 kg, SD 3.2, P< .001). The reduction in weight was largest for employees using the program’s weight loss mode (−3.4 kg, SD 3.5). Mean PA level recorded throughout the program was 173 minutes (SE 12.8) of moderate/high intensity PA per week. Website interaction time was higher and attrition rates were lower (OR 1.38, P= .03) in those individuals with the greatest weight loss.Conclusions This Web-based PA and weight management program showed high levels of engagement across a wide range of employees, including overweight or obese workers, shift workers, and those who do not work with computers. Weight loss was observed at both office and manufacturing sites. The use of monitoring devices to capture and send data to the automated Web-based coaching program may have influenced the high levels of engagement observed in this study. When combined with objective monitoring devices for PA and weight, both use of the website and outcomes can be tracked, allowing the online coaching program to become more personalized to the individual.

New directions in eHealth communication: Opportunities and challenges

“…Likewise, Hurling et al [52] used accelerometers and found that a test group who used an automated, Internet-based physical activity program along with mobile phone technology showed a 2-h, 18-min per week increase in physical activity. In their Internet-based physical activity study of workers, Ware et al [53] concluded that the use of interactive devices to measure activity and weight data was not only useful to document results objectively, but was also associated with motivating participants to use the site (the dropout rate was only 5 percent).…”

An internet-delivered exercise intervention for workplace health promotion in overweight sedentary employees: A randomized trial

“…Similar data were obtained by Buis et al (2009) showing a response rate of only 15% despite inviting 47,000 candidates and drop-out rates of 21% during intervention. Overall, low response rates are a common problem in other similar intervention studies (Spittaels et al, 2007b;Verheijden et al, 2007;Ware et al, 2008). This shows that even the technological possibilities and unlimited availability of the internet is not sufficient to improve self-motivation.…”

“…To account for high drop-out rates reported in similar studies (Slootmaker et al, 2009;Spittaels et al, 2007b;Verheijden et al, 2007;Ware et al, 2008), the sample size was increased by 40% (= 140 participants). Participants were randomly allocated to the two groups in a 3:2 ratio (IG:CG) in order to increase information on a structured exercise intervention (60 persons had to be allocated to the IG and 40 to the CG).…”

Motivational technologies to promote weight loss—From Internet to gadgets

“…As a result of tailoring, Internet-based programs have become applicable to various age-groups, occupations, and sexes [24,28,29]. For example, in a cohort study among 4440 participants, those above the age of 65 performed considerably better in an Internet-based weight loss program, compared to younger participants.…”

“…In addition, they found that diverse occupational groups including office workers and factory workers were both committed to the program. Even shift workers and computer illiterate individuals accomplished the goals of the intervention program -increased their physical activity level and adopted healthier eating habits [29].…”