title: Comparison of Veteran experiences of low-cost, home-based diet and exercise interventions.
abstract: Obesity is a significant health problem among Veterans who receive care from the Department of Veterans Affairs, as it is for so many other Americans. Veterans from Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) experience a myriad of chronic conditions, which can make it difficult to maintain a physically active lifestyle. This pilot study tested the feasibility and user satisfaction with three low-cost, home-based diet and exercise programs, as well as point-of-decision prompts among these Veterans. The three programs target mechanisms that have been shown to improve healthy behavior change, including (1) online mediated social support, (2) objective monitoring of physical activity, and (3) structured high-intensity workouts. This was a randomized crossover trial; each participant used two of the three programs, and all used the point-of-decision prompts. Our qualitative results identified five overall themes related to social support, objective monitoring, structured activity, awareness and understanding, and the point-of-decision prompts. In general, participants were satisfied with and lost weight with each of the interventions. This study demonstrated that these low-cost interventions could be successful with the OIF/OEF Veteran population. A larger and longer study is planned to further investigate the effectiveness of these interventions.
authors.affiliation: Center for Clinical Management Research, Department of Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI.
authors.forename: Bree
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Holtz
authors.forename: Sarah L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Krein
authors.forename: Douglas R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Bentley
authors.forename: Maria E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: Nicholas D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Giardino
authors.forename: Caroline R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Richardson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D055826:Afghan Campaign 2001-; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004032:Diet; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008297:Male; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D009765:Obesity / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016730:Program Development; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012944:Social Support; D014481:United States; D014728:Veterans
keywords: OIF/OEF; Veterans; diet; exercise; lifestyle; obesity; objective monitoring; physical activity; qualitative; technology