Prof. Luley rightly points out that telephone- and internet-based intervention programs are available for overweight and obese patients. Besides face-to-face programs, telemonitoring interventions represent another weight reduction option to support people living in rural areas, especially if they are younger.
The full version of the guideline (www.adipositas-gesellschaft.de) mentions Internet- and telephone-based weight loss programs, referring to two articles published in 2012. The guideline in Deutsches Ärzteblatt is—as stated there—a short version (1).
However, for several reasons, discussed in a recent systematic review of 7 randomized and controlled studies (2), Internet- and telephone-based programs are not recommended in the full version of the guideline either. The authors arrived at the conclusion that mobile technology-based programs can achieve good short-term and moderate mid-term results. Yet, the guideline requires long-term success (≥1 year). In addition, the authors noted deficits of the available studies with regard to clinical standards (diet, exercise), evidence of cost effectiveness and patient acceptance, and concluded that further studies in this field are needed.
The literature search for the guideline was completed in 2013. At that time, an analysis of 6-month data from the ABC program of 2011 was available; one-year data were published online in August 2014. The program was not mentioned in the guideline for the following reason: “At the time of printing of the guideline, 12-month evaluation data from Internet-based weight loss programs in Germany were not available.”
Footnotes
Conflict of interest statement
Prof. Hauner has received consultancy fees from Weight Watchers International and Apothecom (advisory boards). He has received third-party funding from Weight Watchers International and from Riemser GmbH and Certmedica. He is a member of an international advisory board of NovoNordisk.
Prof. Wirth has received consultancy fees from Riemser GmbH.
Prof. Wabitschhas has received consultancy fees from Johnson and Johnson MEDICAL GmbH.
References
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