A New Commercial Behavioral Weight Loss Program: Effect of Program Location, Delivery Mode and Participant Factors on Weight Loss

Rates of obesity are continuing to increase in adult Americans, and intensive behavioral programs are recommended to facilitate success in losing weight. However, among commercial programs that are currently offered to the public, very few have published statistics on their results.We analyzed data for the commercial iDiet program (www.myidiet.com), a new group behavioral program based on novel principles. Specifically, this new program emphasizes hunger control and retraining food preferences through adherence to provided menu plans, in contrast to traditional programs that are built on self‐monitoring and accountability for calorie balance with self‐directed food choices. Self‐reported weights by individuals enrolled in a 12‐week program were analyzed. The data were collected by the iDiet company between January 2013 and June 2015 and provided to Tufts University to conduct independent analyses. The company also gave Tufts direct access to the company participant‐entered weight data for verification of the numbers via random auditing.Results presented are for 498 adult men and women who completed the program and also provided at least one weight per week for ≥10 of 12 program weeks. The mean ± SD age of participants was 51.6±11.6, BMI was 32.3±7.1, and 87% of participants were female. 51% of individuals received their weight loss program in their worksite and 49% enrolled in a community program. 73% received the program via videoconferencing and 27% received it in‐person. Mean weight loss was 7.5±3.6% of starting weight for participants, and 75% of these participants lost ≥5% weight. Predictors of percent weight loss were analyzed using an ANCOVA model including all predictors and adjusting for age and baseline weight. There was no effect of gender, BMI, program location (worksite or community group) delivery mode (live or videoconference) or program payment (full payment by the individual versus no payment or incentivised participation) on percent weight loss. However, program year influenced results, with LS mean percent weight loss increasing from 5.9% in 2013 to 8.6% in 2015 (p =These weight loss values are substantial by comparison with data reported for other commercial weight loss programs, and indicate broadly successful results in a variety of settings by either live or videoconference delivery.Support or Funding InformationThis work was supported by USDA HNRCA grant: H150001 DA9611