Psychosocial correlates of weight lossin an eHealth intervention among Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients

Abstract

Background: The current study aims to understand the psychosocial correlates of weight loss for those with Type 2 Diabetes in an eHealth intervention Methods: A longitudinal, correlational study design was employed to assess the psychosocial correlates of weight loss for those with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2D). Fifty participants completed measures at baseline assessing: personality traits, social support, health related quality of life, stage of change, current processes used in weight management and self-efficacy for exercise and dieting behaviours. Participants then undertook an 8 week eHealth intervention which was designed to restrict dietary intake (DI) and increase physical activity (PA) with the aim of weight loss. Behaviour change techniques utilised included goal setting for DI and PA, education components, behavioural monitoring (via MyFitnessPal mobile application) and feedback. The outcome measure was body weight at 8 weeks (post-intervention). Initial bivariate correlations were conducted to assess associations of psychosocial measures and body weight. A hierarchical multiple regression model was constructed to understand the correlates of clinically significant weight loss (e.g. >5% loss of original body weight) as a result of the eHealth intervention. Results: Results indicate that the eHealth intervention resulted in clinically significant weight loss in those with T2D. At baseline, strong social support was associated with weight management actions (r=.57, p<.001), while negative affect was linked to weight consequences evaluation (r=.3, p<.001), mediating readiness for behaviour change. Conclusions: Understanding and accounting for individual differences among patients is important in tailoring the content of eHealth interventions to improve clinical outcomes.