Longitudinal Effects of a Commercial Digital Weight Management Program on Weight Loss

Prior treatment

• Major surgery interfering with consuming a regular diet and performing physical activity within the past 6 months
• Concurrent enrollment in other weight management programs or clinical trials that may interfere
• Previous surgical procedure for weight loss
• Prescription medication with known effects on appetite or weight (e.g., oral steroids, weight loss medications such as Qsymia, Contrave, etc.) with the exception of a stable dose of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for 6 months

Other illness

• History of heart problems (e.g., angina, bypass surgery, myocardial infarction, etc.) within the past 6 months
• Hospitalized for psychiatric problems within the past 12 months
• Ever been diagnosed with an eating disorder
• Diagnosis of conditions indicative of weight loss difficulties or unsupervised exercise as being unsafe or unreasonable (e.g., orthopedic limitations, heart problems)
• History of chronic/inflammatory gastrointestinal disorder, with the expectation of irritable bowel syndrome
• Diagnosis of diabetes
• Presence of implanted cardiac defibrillator or pacemaker
• Cancer within past 5 years
• Current cancer treatment
• Untreated thyroid disease or changes (type or dose) in thyroid medication in the last 6 months

Other

• Weight loss of ≥ 5 kg within the past 6 months
• Paid subscription to Noom within the past 12 months
• Living with another study participant
• Current, recent, or planned pregnancy in the next 12 months

• 18 to 75 years old
• Self-reported body mass index (BMI) of 25-45
• Proficient in English
• Live in the United States
• Have access to an iOS smartphone or tablet and were willing to use applications daily
• Willing to abstain from engaging in other weight loss programs for 16 weeks
• Willing to discontinue any current over-the-counter (OTC) supplements not recommended/prescribed by a physician (except for multivitamins or other vitamin supplements)
• Have a goal of losing weight
• Complete a decisional balance exercise based on the work of Goldberg and Kiernan (2005). During this exercise, participants reviewed the nature, design, and importance of this study and were prompted to consider the pros and cons of participation. The purpose of this exercise was to ensure that participants fully understood and were willing to participate in the study, as well as to increase study retention.