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. 2022 Oct 13;15:3121–3131. doi: 10.2147/DMSO.S384450

Table 1.

Characteristics of the Included Studies

Author (Year) Country Population Interventions Results

  • Characteristics

  • Mean Age

  • Sample Size

  • Contents

  • Theoretical Background

  • Intervention Length

  • Outcome Variables

  • Follow Up

  • Major Results
Abdi et al (2015)29 Iran

  • Governmental Employees with obesity

  • Web = 42.5 years, Telephone = 41.1 years

  • IG: Web = 135, Telephone = 135, CG: 135

  • Nutrition, Physical activity, Behavioral change, Incentive

  • Social cognitive theory

  • 6m

  • BW, WC, BP, Physical activity, Nutrition

  • Baseline, 12m, 15m

  • A weight reduction of 1.92 in the telephone-assisted intervention groups (p<0.001) and 1.08 kg in the web-assisted intervention groups(p<0.001)
Almeida et al (2015)38 USA

  • Employees with obesity in multiple industries

  • 46.9 years

  • IG: 789, CG: 1001

  • Nutrition, Physical activity, Incentive

  • Social cognitive theory

  • 12m

  • BW, BMI, Physical activity behavior, Dietary behavior

  • Baseline, 18m

  • All groups reduced weight and BMI (p<0.001), but without significant difference between groups.
Balk-Moller et al (2017)39 Denmark

  • Employees with obesity in Social Welfare Sector

  • 47 years

  • IG: 355, CG: 211

  • Nutrition, Physical activity, Behavioral change

  • N/A

  • 16wk

  • BW, WC, BMI, BP, Total cholesterol

  • Baseline, 16wk, 38wk

  • IG lost more weight than CG (−1.01 kg, p=0.03)
Carnie et al (2013)30 USA

  • Female employees with overweight

  • 47 years

  • IG: 99, CG: 100

  • Nutrition, Physical activity, Incentive

  • N/A

  • 6m

  • BW, WC, HC, BMI, Glucose, Insulin, Lipid, Total fat mass, Percent truncal fat, Exercise performance, peak VO2, Insulin sensitivity, Pedometer

  • Baseline, 3m, 6m

  • IG lost more weight than CG at 3 months (−2.2±2.8 vs −1.0±3.0 kg, p<0.001). Weight reduction at 6 months was significant in both IG and CG, but without significant difference between groups
Day et al (2019)31 USA

  • Employees with overweight or obesity

  • 37.1 years

  • IG: 221, CG: 200

  • Nutrition, Physical activity, Behavioral change

  • N/A

  • 6m

  • BW, BMI, Intent to treat

  • Baseline, 6m

  • A weight reduction from 1.04 to 1.41 kg in IG, and an weight gain in CG
Kempf et al (2019)32 Germany

  • Employees with obesity in Pharmaceutical company

  • 51 years

  • IG: 34, CG 1: 34, CG 2: 36

  • Nutrition, Physical activity, Behavioral change, Motivation

  • N/A

  • 12m

  • BW, BMI, WC, BP, Triglyceride, HbA1c, Fast blood glucose, Adiponectin, C-reactive protein, Eating behavior, Physical activity, Quality of life

  • Baseline, 3m, 6m, 9m, 12m, 36m

  • All groups reduced weight after 12 months (all p<0.01) and sustained it during the 36 months follow-up (all p<0.01), without significant difference between groups.
Ozaki et al (2018)33 Japan

  • Employees with obesity in multiple industries

  • 34.2 years

  • IG: Standard = 24, Enhanced = 25, CG: 22

  • Nutrition, Physical activity, Behavioral change

  • N/A

  • 12wk

  • BW, WC, BMI, Physical activity, Energy intake, Diet History Questionnaire, Self-efficacy, Perceived health competence scale

  • Baseline, 12wk

  • Enhanced IG lost more weight than standard IG and CG (p<0.001), and standard IG lost more weight than CG (p=0.033)
Petersen et al (2008)34 USA

  • Employees with obesity in multiple healthcare center

  • N/A

  • IG: 7743, CG 1: 128, CG 2: 188

  • Nutrition, Physical activity, Behavioral change, Motivation

  • N/A

  • At least 18wk

  • BW, BMI, Health risk behavior (Smoking, Physical inactivity, high stress, high cholesterol), Eating habit

  • Baseline, 6m, 12m

  • The percentage of participants in the normal weight category had increased from 27.0% to 29.8% (p< 0.05). Increased website usage was associated with increased weight reduction and stage of change improvements.
Pressler et al (2010)35 Germany

  • Employees with obesity in Automobile Manufacturer

  • N/A(Median age 48 years)

  • IG: 84, CG: 56

  • Physical activity

  • N/A

  • 12wk

  • BW, WC, BMI, Body fat composition, BP, HDL, Triglycerides, FBG, peak VO2, Peak ergometer performance (Pmax/Kg), Heart rate during ergometry, Acceptance of the intervention questionnaire

  • Baseline, 12wk

  • Weight reduction at 12 weeks was significant in both IG and CG, but without significant difference between groups
Sakane et al (2013)36 Japan

  • Employees with obesity in multiple healthcare center

  • N/A

  • IG: Web+Visceral fat measurement = 88, Web = 95, CG: 68

  • Nutrition, Physical activity

  • Social cognitive theory

  • 12wk

  • BW, BMI, WC, Assessment of Lifestyle improvement

  • Baseline, 12wk

  • Reduction of weight, waist circumference, and BMI and improvements of health behaviors were the largest in Web and Visceral fat measurement group, with the significant differences between groups.
Van Wier et al (2012)37 Netherlands

  • Employees with obesity in multiple industries

  • 43.3 years

  • IG: Phone = 462, Internet 464, CG: 460

  • Nutrition, Physical activity, Behavioral change

  • Social cognitive theory

  • 6m

  • BW, WC, Dietary intake, Physical activity

  • Baseline, 24m

  • Weight reduction at 24 months was significant in both IG and CG, but without significant difference between groups

Abbreviations: IG, intervention group; CG, comparison group; wk, week; m, month; BW, body weight; WC, waist circumference; BP, blood pressure; BMI, body mass index; HC, hip circumference; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; FBG, fasting blood glucose.