Dietary adherence improved by virtual counseling and monitoring.

Cost and access to support are common obstacles to attaining assistance with weight loss. Whether you need support or education, access to experts is needed to attain these goals for most dieters. There is nothing free in our society and unfortunately, weight loss support by a professional can be quite expensive. Any means to expand access wider while avoiding excess cost could be a key to help the masses lose weight without bankrupting the country.

The good news is that research from 2019 looked at telemedicine or virtual medicine as a means to expand access​[1]​. The objective of this study was to investigate changes in adherence to a dietary change with coaching or counseling through an online virtual means and electronic monitoring of their success with smart scales and activity monitors. The subjects were exposed to a 12-week diet that would produce a healthy rate of weight loss in addition to monitoring. Half of the subjects were coached weekly and the other half were not.

The subjects in the interventional group had a ten times greater level of weight loss and adhered to the diet at a 17% higher rate when compared to the control. This finding makes sense because of a higher level of medical professional involvement in anyu behavioral change will result in a higher level of success. This is research-proven in almost any study you find. The same you absolutely be true with weight loss.

The bottom line: Weekly virtual coaching through telehealth helps subjects not only lose weight but also adhere to the dietary changes. I would like to see a large study and maybe even on through telephone support. I suspect this will be confirmed by further studies and will become a useful means to assist patients in rural and inner-city areas without breaking the bank.