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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