Rates and Determinants of Repeated Participation in a Web-Based Behavior Change Program for Healthy Body Weight and Healthy Lifestyle

It is found that obese people were more likely to participate in follow-up than people of normal body weight and the non-stigmatizing way of addressing body weight through the Internet may be part of the explanation for this.

Abstract

For some variables, this study confirms our concern that behavioral intervention programs may reach those who need them the least. However, contrary to most expectations, we found that obese people were more likely to participate in follow-up than people of normal body weight. The non-stigmatizing way of addressing body weight through the Internet may be part of the explanation for this. Our findings suggest that Web-based health behavior change programs may be more successful in the area of weight management than in many other health-related areas. They also stress the importance of adequate coverage of weight management in Web-based health promotion programs, as a driver to continue participation for overweight and obese people.