Online dieting programs vary in effectiveness Online dieting programs vary in effectiveness
Published: May 22, 2007
Put the word "diet” into a Google search, and you'll get about 150 million hits. Many are pretty sketchy, promising quick, simple and painless weight loss, but several companies have interesting and creative programs to help you battle the bulge online.
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Do they work? Here are some answers to help you find your online diet groove.
Q:Does online dieting work?
A:A recent study compared an "online, therapist-led structured behavioral weight-loss Web site” with eDiets.com. In this case, the therapist-led group lost significantly more weight and kept it off. In another study, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine compared eDiets.com with a weight-loss manual. Again, researchers reported that "participants who received the weight-loss manual lost significantly more weight at weeks 16 and 52 than those assigned to eDiets.com.” However, there has been strong research that suggests there is a place for online dieting, especially when it includes personalized feedback and peer support.
Q:What types diets are available online?
A: •E-mail counseling with nutritionists and/or dietitians (e.g., Personal
Diets.com).
•Web tools, including food and activity diary (FitDay.com, MyFoodDiary.com).
•Web tools, meal planners, social support (eDiets.com, WeightWatchers.com, South
beachdiet.com).
Q:What are the advantages?
A: •Privacy and anonymity: "Many dieters are very self-conscious about their bodies and are sensitive to being judged. The Internet is a great way for someone who struggles with those issues, or someone who's isolated, to get some support without the scarier commitment of seeing a coach or group face-to-face,” says Annie B. Kay, author of "Every Bite Is Divine” (Life Arts Press, 2007).
•24/7 access: You can get to your online diet from anywhere at any time.
•Time saver: "It reduces the barrier of traveling to a clinic. It also allows people to have access to a regular source of check-in even when they are traveling,” says Gary D. Foster, director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University.
•Support: Internet diets offer wonderful opportunities for people going through similar experiences to support each other. "Hearing and seeing someone who has ‘done the impossible — lost weight and kept it off' is highly motivating for many people. Internet weight-loss ‘buddies' are helpful for many people for that reason, as well,” says Janet Bond Brill, author of "Cholesterol Down” (Crown, 2006).
•Cost: "They're usually much cheaper than face-to-face consultations with a nutritionist or personal trainer, and much high-quality information is available for those who know how to find it,” Kay says. The typical charge is about $5 per week with a three-month commitment. Personal dietitian counseling is about $7 to $10 per week.
Q:What are the negatives?
A:•No accountability: "Many of the sites are fancy tools that offer no accountability. People are often more successful at weight loss when they are monitored by another party (such as weekly weigh-ins at Weight Watchers). Internet diet programs often lack the interpersonal communication of one-on-one contact and support,” Brill says.
•Time-consuming: Keeping track and entering your food and activities, updating your meal plan, shopping using the shopping lists online are more work than having a nutritionist assist you.
•Computer skills required: You need to know how to use the Internet and computers.
•Interference: "Ads and inducements to buy products that may or may not help the dieter are everywhere and beg the question of what type of relationship is being established,” Kay says.
•Lack of feeling: Kay says, "There's no real substitute for quality personal contact. As a dietitian, when I see someone face-to-face, I see my client's emotions more clearly, and the nuances of a face-to-face conversation just can't be replicated over the Internet.”
•No activity: "Sitting at the computer is a completely sedentary activity that contributes to the couch-potato lifestyle that must be reversed to promote a lifetime of weight control,” Brill says.
•Maintenance is difficult: Prescriptive meal plans are difficult to stick to, even if you personalize them, and what happens when you go off the meal plan? Are you supposed to follow them forever?
•Getting involved: If you want to avoid dieting online, you simply don't log on. It's easier than skipping an appointment with a nutritionist or personal trainer. Dawn Jackson Blatner, a spokesman for the American Dietetic Association, suggests making the online diet program your home page.
•Pricing: Many sites don't tell you the price until you've filled out the uninformative "diet profile.” This is annoying and time-consuming.
Q:What are the characteristics of a good Internet dieting program?
A:Blatner says all online programs should include:
•Diet recommendations, recipes and menus.
•Exercise recommendations and suggested exercises.
•Log/tracking system.
•Social component, chat rooms, bulletin boards.
•Individualized feedback, counseling and accountability.
Blatner warns against "scam” sites that:
•Promise a quick fix.
•Make claims that sound too good to be true.
•Give recommendations based on a single study (or none at all).
•Push products such as supplements.
Questions to ask yourself
•Are you at your computer often? Will you remember to log on to the diet site?
•Are you self-motivated?
•What diets have worked for you in the past?
•Do you get a good feel from the site? Is it easy to navigate?
•You like the tools, but will you use them?
•Is the information on the site engaging?
•Will this site work with your lifestyle?
•Does the program include accountability?
•Can you afford it?
•Is there a free option that does the same thing?
•Do you need face-to-face interaction?
Charles Stuart Platkin is a nutrition and public health advocate and founder of Integrated Wellness Solutions.
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