Self-Directed Interventions May Be Useful
Treatments for obesity
include exercise, diet, weight loss drugs and
lifestyle modification. Lifestyle modification is
a key element of most treatment programs, because
a person must change the way he or she lives so
that good diet, exercise and other healthy habits
can become an integral part of the person's daily
life. Lifestyle modification is commonly enhanced
by counseling. Counseling can be instrumental in
enabling obesity and weight loss treatment methods
to work. The counseling is usually face-to-face,
performed by a professional. But if self-directed
interventions can be effective, the need for the
professional intervention would be lessened,
decreasing the cost of weight loss programs.
A new study has shown
that self-directed interventions can be an
effective tool in obesity treatment. These tools
include email counseling, the use of smartphones,
interactive websites and text messaging. The
PubMed reported
study is entitled, " Self-Directed
Interventions to Promote weight Loss: A Systematic
review of reviews."
The study's researchers
conclude that ‘self-directed interventions can independently
promote weight loss and can augment interventions
involving personal contact. Particular change
techniques and delivery modes including
individualized feedback, email counseling, and
online social support appear to enhance
effectiveness.’
Still, in a another study,
done at the University of Kansas, researchers
concluded that self-directed interventions were
less important than other tools in the programs
the investigators looked at. The University of
Kansas researchers suggested that the success of
the weight loss programs was "more likely due to
the combination of elements—a low-calorie diet,
packaged meals, physical activity, individual
support, and record-keeping."
At any rate, since
self-directed interventions can cause a decrease
in the face-to-face time a professional service
provider must spend with the patient, these types
of intervention can reduce the costs associated
with weight loss and weight maintenance programs.
Moreover, self-directed interventions can be
effective in some cases. So weight loss service
providers should consider self-directed methods
and determine if the methods might be an effective
addition to their treatment services.
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