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Assessing the Feasibility of a Social Media to Promote Weight Management Engagement in Adolescents with Severe Obesity: Pilot Study
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Assessing the Feasibility of a Social Media to Promote Weight Management Engagement in Adolescents with Severe Obesity: Pilot Study

Elizabeth Prout Parks, Renee H. Moore, Ziyi Li, Chanelle T. Bishop-Gilyard, Andrew R. Garrett, Douglas L. Hill, Yasmeen P. Bruton and David B. Sarwer
JMIR research protocols, v 7(3), pp e52-e52
01 Mar 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/resprot.8229
PMID: 29555623
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
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https://doi.org/10.2196/resprot.8229View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

Health Care Sciences & Services Life Sciences & Biomedicine Public, Environmental & Occupational Health Science & Technology
Background: Severe obesity in adolescents has deleterious physical and psychological complications necessitating frequent multi-disciplinary clinic visits. Greater treatment engagement has been equated with weight-loss. However, traditional medical weight-loss programs for adolescents have high attrition rates. Social media is widely used by adolescents and may enhance medical weight management engagement and success. Objective: The first objective was to examine the acceptability and feasibility of using a private social media group as an adjunct to medical weight management in youth ages 14 to 20 years with severe obesity [body mass index (BMI) >= 35 kg/m2]. The second objective was to pilot test the use of social media to improve treatment engagement and decrease attrition rates. Methods: In this single arm, 12 week pre-post study, participants attended individual clinic visits and participated in a moderated private social media group that received nutrition, exercise, and behavior change social media communications or "posts" 3 to 4 times/week. Youth commented and/or liked posts from the moderator and each other. Social media engagement was measured with the number of likes and comments on social media. Clinic attrition was compared, measuring clinic visit attendance 12 weeks prior, during, and after the intervention with mixed linear regression models. Correlations of social media engagement with changes from baseline for BMI, BMI-z score, and psychosocial measures were fit. Results: All 13 enrolled youth completed the study and reported that the group was enjoyable, helpful, reinforced their weight management program, and would recommend using social media to support other youth. The pilot trial was acceptable and feasible. Youth mean weekly engagement (likes + comments) in social media was greater than once a day (8.6 +/- 3.6). Compared to 12 weeks prior to the intervention, there was no significant decrease in clinic visit attendance at the end of the intervention (M=.231, P=.69) or 12 weeks at the conclusion of the intervention (M=.589, P=.28). Increased social media comments correlated with weight change (r=-.633, P=.04). Conclusions: This pilot trial demonstrated that the use of social media as an adjunct to medical weight management was feasible and acceptable to adolescents with severe obesity. Based upon these preliminary findings, social media may be an effective way to mitigate attrition from obesity treatment programs, and improve health outcomes in this high-risk population.

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15 citations in Web of Science
14 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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#3 Good Health and Well-Being

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Health Care Sciences & Services
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
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