[The Internet as a tool to treat an overweight population].
Obesity is the most common expression of malnutrition and its prevalence has been increasing fast in Brazil. The Internet -- though still underused -- can be an useful tool in treating obesity through behavioral techniques. The purpose of the present paper was to assess the use of the Internet for obesity treatment in a sample of adults of Lagoa dos Três Cantos, RS, where 58.6% of the population reported a BMI over 25 kg/m(2). All overweight individuals (n= 532) were submitted to a weight loss program via the Internet, on a low-calorie diet and the support of behavioral techniques. Mean body weight loss was reported at 2, 5, 8 and 13 months, as compared to baseline: 354 individuals (66.6%) lost over 5%, and 106 of them (20%) lost over 10% of their initial weight. Results show that the Internet can be useful in the fight against overweight and obesity.
Costa
Analucia G
AG
Departamento de Endocrinologia, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP. giucosta@uol.com.br
Fuchiwaki
Andrea C
AC
Miranda
Vanessa D
VD
Halpern
Alfredo
A
D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000592:standards*; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000628:therapy*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D015431:Weight Loss