Table 1.
Authors and year | Study design | Intervention | Sample | Total N | n per group | Duration | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Weight loss | |||||||
Stuart (1967) | Case studies | Self-weighing 4 times/day, additional behavioral techniques | Not specified; 8 women, obese | 8 | 12 months | Mean weight loss 0.75 lb/week through treatment | |
Romanczyk, Tracey, Wilson, and Thorpe (1973) | RCT: Sequential dismantling; 7 groups | Community; SNS; ≥15 lb overweight | 102 | 14–15 | 4 weeks before starting “program” | Delayed tx group that self-weighed and charted did not lose weight | |
Romanczyk (1974) | RCT: Sequential dismantling; 5 groups | Community; SNS; ≥15 lb overweight | 70 | 14 | 4 weeks before starting “program” | Delayed tx group that self-weighed and charted did not lose weight | |
Mahoney (1974) | RCT; 4 groups |
|
Community; 46 women; 20% overweight | 49 | 11–14 | 2 week baseline period | Self-monitored group did not differ from controls, whereas other two groups lost significantly more weight |
Mahoney, Moura, and Wade (1973) | RCT; 5 groups |
|
Community; 48 females and 5 males; 48.6% overweight | 53 | 5–16 | 4 weeks | Self-monitoring group (Group 4) lost significantly less weight than the self-reward group (1) and lost the least amount of weight than any of the groups. |
Heckerman, Brownell, and Westlake (1978) | RCT; 2 groups |
|
Not specified; 20 women; 15 lb or 15% overweight | 23 | 11, 12 | 10 weeks treatment | No significant difference in weight change between groups |
Linde, Jeffery, French, Pronk, and Boyle (2005) | Cohorta (RCT; 3 groups) |
|
Membership in managed care organization; 1,292 women; BMI ≥ 27.0 kg/m2 | 1,800 | NA | 2 years | Change in weighing frequency significantly p < .0001 associated with weight change—daily associated with loss independent of demographics, tx group, or relevant behaviors (p = .213) |
VanWormer, Martinez, Benson, et al. (2009) | Cohort | Daily self-weighing on tele-scale, 10 counseling sessions with dietitian, manual | BMI >31 kg/m 2. 91 women | 100 | NA | 6 months treatment, 12- month follow- up without tele-scale | Significant weight loss after 6 months (p < .001), but not at 18- month follow-up |
Gokee-LaRose, Gorin, and Wing (2009) | RCT; 2 groups; |
|
Community; BMI 27–40 kg/m2 | 40 | 21, 19 | 10 weeks | Both groups had significant weight loss; no difference between groups |
Oshima, Matsuoka, and Sakane (2013) | RCT; 2 groups; |
|
BMI ~27 kg/m 2, 29 women | 56 | 28, 28 | 12 weeks | Both groups had significant weight loss; Group 2 more than Group 1 (p < .05). |
Steinberg et al. (2013) | RCT; 2 groups |
|
Overweight, 68 women | 91 | 47, 44 | 6 months | The treatment led to significantly greater weight loss at 6 months compared with controls (p < .001) |
Prevention of weight regain | |||||||
Fujimoto et al. (1992) | RCT; 2 groups; | Weighing 4 times/day
|
Hospitalized moderately obese patients; 74 female—all 15 males in charting condition | 89 | 72 (57 female + 15 male); 17 | ≥ 2 years after | No weight regain in group that charted; weight regain in those that charted (females only) |
Klem, Wing, McGuire, Seagle, and Hill (1997) | Cohort | National Weight Control Registry; 629 women; lost ≥ 30 lb and maintained loss ≥1 year | 784 | NA | Average time weight loss maintained = 5.5 years | 38% weigh daily; 75% ≥ 1x/week | |
Wing, Tate, Gorin, Raynor, and Fava (2006) |
Cohorta RCT; 3 groups |
|
Community and weight loss programs; 255 women; lost ≥10% body weight in last 2 years | 314 | 104–105 | 1.5 years | Proportion of participants regaining ≥ 5 lb significantly lower in daily weighers compared with less frequent weighers in Internet and face to face but not control groups |
Prevention of weight gain | |||||||
Jeffery and French (1997) |
Cohorta RCT; 3 groups; |
|
Community; 594 women; no body weight criterion | 822 | NA | 3 years | Increases in weighing frequency related to < wt gain in all groups (r from −0.14 to −0.21; p < .05) |
Levitsky, Garay, Nausbaum, Neighbors, and Dellavalle (2006) | RCT; 2 groups |
|
Freshman university students; 75 women; no body weight criterion | 34; 41 (replicated trial on separate year) | 11, 15 (after dropout); 16, 16 (after dropout) | 10 weeks | Experimental groups did not gain weight (p significantly different from 0) control groups gained 6.8, 4.4 lb, respectively. |
VanWormer, Linde, Harnack, Stovitz, and Jeffery (2012) | Cohort | Worksite | 1,122 | 2 years | Weight reduction among obese daily self-weighers, better weight control with more frequent self- weighing |
Note. Studies such as Strimas and Dionne (2010) and Gow, Trace, and Mazzeo (2010) were not included because no direction was given with regard to weight (e.g., prevent weight gain, lose weight). Community sample—those responding to a public advertisement. RCT = randomized controlled trial; SNS = sex not specified; Tx = treatment; BMI = body mass index.
If study design is italicized, this describes how the sample was used for these analyses. The intended study design is presented in parentheses.