Background. Lifestyle interventions have shown to be effective when continuous personal support was provided. However, there is\nlack of knowledge whether a telemedical-approach with personal coaching contributes to long-term weight losses in overweight\nemployees. We, therefore, tested the hypothesis that telemedical-based lifestyle interventions accompanied with telemedical\ncoaching lead to larger weight losses in overweight persons in an occupational health care setting. Methods. Overweight employees\n(n=180) with a body mass index (BMI) of >27 kg/m2 were randomized into either a telemedical (TM) group (n=61), a telemedical\ncoaching (TMC) group (n=58), or a control group (n=61). Both intervention groups were equipped with scales and pedometers\nautomatically transferring the data into a personalized online portal, which could be monitored from participants and coaches.\nParticipants of the TMC group received additionally one motivational care call per week by mental coaches to discuss the current\ndata (current weight and steps) and achieving goals such as a healthy lifestyle or weight reduction. The control group remained\nin routine care. Clinical and anthropometric data were determined after the 12-week intervention. Additionally, weight change\nwas followed up after 12 months. Results. Participants of TMC (-3.1 ± 4.8 kg, p<0.0001) and TM group (-1.9 ± 4.0 kg; p=0.0012)\nsignificantly reduced weight and sustained it during the 1-year follow-up, while the control group showed no change. Compared\nto the control group only weight loss in the TMC group was significantly different (p<0.001) after 12 months. TMC and TM group\nalso reduced BMI, waist circumference, and LDL cholesterol. Moreover, TMC group improved additionally systolic and diastolic\nblood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and HbA1c. Conclusions. Telemedical devices in combination with telemedical\ncoaching lead to significant long-term weight reductions in overweight persons in an occupational health care setting. This study\nis registered with NCT01868763, Clinical Trials.gov.
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