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Varying social media post types differentially impacts engagement in a behavioral weight loss intervention

  • Original Research
  • Published:
Translational Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine whether different types of posts differentially affect participant engagement and if engagement with social media enhances weight loss. Data are a subanalysis from a randomized weight loss study with a 4-month follow-up support period via private Facebook groups and monthly meetings. Counselors posted five different post types/week based on social cognitive theory (weight-related, recipes, nutrition information, poll votes, or requests for suggestions). Types of participant engagement (likes, comments/poll votes, and views) were assessed. Poll votes were the most engaging (mean number of votes or comments/poll 14.6 ± 3.4, P < 0.01) followed by suggestions (9.1 ± 2.7 posts, P < 0.01) and weight-related posts (7.4 ± 3.1 posts, P < 0.01). Engagement with Facebook was significantly associated with weight loss during the 4-month maintenance period (B = −0.09, P = 0.04). The findings provide evidence for ways to provide social support during weight loss interventions using remote methodology.

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Acknowledgments

This was an investigator-initiated study and did not receive any funding. All authors declare that they maintain full control of all primary data collected as a part of this research study. All authors had full access to all of the data (including statistical reports and tables) in the study and can take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Conflict of interest

Authors’ Statement of Conflict of Interest and Adherence to Ethical Standards Sarah Hales, Brie Turner-McGrievy, and Charis Davidson declare that they have no conflict of interest. The clinical trial registration number for this study through ClinicalTrials.gov is NCT01742572. This research study received no funding. All procedures, including informed consent process, were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000.

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Correspondence to Sarah B. Hales PhD Candidate, MSW, LMSW.

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Implications

Practice: Prompts soliciting feedback, such as polling features and suggestions, prompt the most engagement among participants and should be used in the context of social media based interventions for weight loss.

Policy: Future public health initiatives may want to consider offering group support via social media when face-face support from clinical staff decreases.

Research: Future studies should examine if social support provided via social media groups differs from support delivered in traditional clinical settings.

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Hales, S.B., Davidson, C. & Turner-McGrievy, G.M. Varying social media post types differentially impacts engagement in a behavioral weight loss intervention. Behav. Med. Pract. Policy Res. 4, 355–362 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-014-0274-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-014-0274-z

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