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Research Project: Preventing the Development of Childhood Obesity

Location: Children's Nutrition Research Center

Title: A systematic review of the use of dietary self-monitoring in behavioral weight-loss interventions: Delivery, intensity and effectiveness

Author
item RABER, MARGARET - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item LIAO, YUE - Md Anderson Cancer Center
item RARA, ANNE - Md Anderson Cancer Center
item SCHEMBRE, SUSAN - University Of Arizona
item KRAUSE, KATE - Md Anderson Cancer Center
item STRONG, LARKIN - Md Anderson Cancer Center
item DANIEL-MACDOUGALL, CARRIE - Md Anderson Cancer Center
item BASEN-ENGQUIST, KAREN - Md Anderson Cancer Center

Submitted to: Public Health Nutrition
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/10/2021
Publication Date: 8/20/2021
Citation: Raber, M., Liao, Y., Rara, A., Schembre, S.M., Krause, K.J., Strong, L., Daniel-MacDougall, C., Basen-Engquist, K. 2021. A systematic review of the use of dietary self-monitoring in behavioral weight-loss interventions: Delivery, intensity and effectiveness. Public Health Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1017/S136898002100358X.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S136898002100358X

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: We conducted a systematic review of eight databases and examined 59 weight loss intervention studies targeting adults with overweight/obesity that used dietary self-monitoring. We identified self-monitoring implementation characteristics, effectiveness of interventions in supporting weight loss, and examined weight loss outcomes among higher and lower intensity dietary self-monitoring protocols. Included studies utilized diverse self-monitoring formats (paper, website, mobile app, phone) and intensity levels (recording all intake or only certain aspects of diet). We found the majority of studies using high and low intensity self-monitoring strategies demonstrated statistically significant weight loss in intervention groups compared to control groups. Based on our findings, lower and higher intensity dietary self-monitoring may support weight loss, but variability in adherence measures and limited analysis of weight loss relative to self-monitoring usage limits our understanding of how these methods compare to each other.