Doing Your Dieting Online?
Doing Your Dieting Online?
Jan. 6, 2000 (Washington) -- Clicking your computer mouse may help you lose weight, organizers of a new online program are claiming. Led by former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, MD, the nonprofit group Shape Up America! has launched a new interactive weight loss program.
Located at www.shapeup.org, the site joins a bewildering array of Internet weight-loss programs. Under the Koop offering, an individual initially plugs in his or her age, sex, weight, and height. That information determines daily calorie needs. The program then develops a diet and fitness plan designed to help the dieter lose 1-2 pounds per week. The program's dieticians are also accessible via email to answer personal questions.
The program costs $15 to join, with a weekly fee of $10. Program officials said that any profits will underwrite the nonprofit's social initiatives.
So what will people get for their money? Edee Hogan, a dietician and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, tells WebMD, "We do have some studies that show that when people pay ... they have a little better luck." She explains, "When people pay something, they buy into it."
A recent Brown University Medical Center study of 90 patients found that individuals lost four times as much weight (12 pounds) over 12 weeks when they had interactive web assistance -- as opposed to non-interactive Internet weight loss information.
According to Debra Tate, the Brown psychology graduate student that led the study, the new program appears medically sound. "The information that they're giving out is quality information," she tells WebMD. "It offers people another option. A lot of people don't go to treatment. They have such busy lives, or they don't have access to a really good program."
But Arthur Frank, MD, medical director of George Washington University's weight management program, tells WebMD, "I don't know what they're going to be doing. I don't know how they're going to be responsive. I don't know what category of people who are overweight are going to find this useful."
According to Frank, "If you need to lose 100 pounds, I don't think that this will be useful. You need more a medical kind of attention than you're going to get from a program like this." At the same time, he allows, "There's an anonymity about the Internet, which enables people to deal with issues where they wouldn't otherwise be inclined."
Doing Your Dieting Online?
Located at www.shapeup.org, the site joins a bewildering array of Internet weight-loss programs. Under the Koop offering, an individual initially plugs in his or her age, sex, weight, and height. That information determines daily calorie needs. The program then develops a diet and fitness plan designed to help the dieter lose 1-2 pounds per week. The program's dieticians are also accessible via email to answer personal questions.
The program costs $15 to join, with a weekly fee of $10. Program officials said that any profits will underwrite the nonprofit's social initiatives.
So what will people get for their money? Edee Hogan, a dietician and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, tells WebMD, "We do have some studies that show that when people pay ... they have a little better luck." She explains, "When people pay something, they buy into it."
A recent Brown University Medical Center study of 90 patients found that individuals lost four times as much weight (12 pounds) over 12 weeks when they had interactive web assistance -- as opposed to non-interactive Internet weight loss information.
According to Debra Tate, the Brown psychology graduate student that led the study, the new program appears medically sound. "The information that they're giving out is quality information," she tells WebMD. "It offers people another option. A lot of people don't go to treatment. They have such busy lives, or they don't have access to a really good program."
But Arthur Frank, MD, medical director of George Washington University's weight management program, tells WebMD, "I don't know what they're going to be doing. I don't know how they're going to be responsive. I don't know what category of people who are overweight are going to find this useful."
According to Frank, "If you need to lose 100 pounds, I don't think that this will be useful. You need more a medical kind of attention than you're going to get from a program like this." At the same time, he allows, "There's an anonymity about the Internet, which enables people to deal with issues where they wouldn't otherwise be inclined."
Source...