title: Mobile Phone Short Message Service (SMS) for Weight Management in Iranian Overweight and Obese Women: A Pilot Study.
abstract: We conducted a text message-based intervention for weight management over three months by two months intervention and one month wash-out period. In a quasi-experimental study with control (n = 40) and experimental group (n = 40), 80 overweight and obese employed women were entered. Participants were recruited via announcement. All subjects attended a face-to-face information session and received a booklet that contained food calorie chart and strategies and recommendations for weight management. The experimental group received text messages (SMS) about weight management twice a day for two months, in addition to the information and the booklet which they had received in the information session. Also, the experimental group was instructed to weekly self-weight and to send the data to the principle researcher. All subjects were measured for baseline and secondary weight in a standardized manner by a nurse, and the data were compared between the two groups. Experimental group lost more weight than the control group (1.5 kg difference, P = 0.018). Text messaging seems to be an effective channel of communication for weight management in Iranian overweight and obese women. The clinical trial registration number is IRCT201204029360N1.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Midwifery and Center for Nursing Care Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 1419733171, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Somayeh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Faghanipour
authors.forename: Eftekharalsadat
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hajikazemi
authors.forename: Soghra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nikpour
authors.forename: Shabnam Al-Sadat
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Shariatpanahi
authors.forename: Agha Fatemeh
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Hosseini