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RESEARCHPhoningit inStudy showsphone counselingcan reinforceweight lossBy Jill PeaseTelephone counseling may be just assuccessful as face-to-face counselingin helping people maintain weightloss, report UF researchers.The UF study is the first to demonstrate the effectiveness oftelephone counseling for long-term management of obesity in ruralcommunities. The findings appeared in the Nov. 24 issue ofArchives of Internal Medicine.In the study of women in underserved rural areas, those whoreceived phone or face-to-face counseling after an initial weightlossprogram did a better job of keeping the weight off than thosein a control group.“We found that the participants who received extended care wereable to maintain their weight loss at higher levels than thoseparticipants who only received printed health education materialsas a follow-up,” said lead investigator Michael G. Perri, Ph.D., aprofessor and interim dean of the College of Public Health andHealth Professions. “The success of telephone counseling gives us acost-effective alternative to face-to-face visits that is moreconvenient for rural residents who may need to travel longdistances for care.”Study participants included 234 women who were obese, werebetween 50 and 75, and lived in rural communities in northernFlorida. After completing a six-month weight-loss program, womenin the study lost an average of 22 pounds. One year later,participants who received phone or face-to-face counseling aftertreatment had regained less weight — on average, 2.5 pounds —than those in the education control group, who regained an averageof 8 pounds.Long-term care is an important component in weight-lossmaintenance, said Perri, who has argued for the acceptance ofobesity as a chronic condition that requires continuous care.Previous studies have shown that in the year after treatment,participants regain one-third to one-half of the weight lost.During the first phase of the UF study, the women participated ina weight-loss program that combineda low-calorie diet with daily30-minute walks and an emphasis onlearning problem-solving skills toovercome barriers to weight loss. Thewomen met in weekly group sessionsin six rural counties.“We also addressed special issuesof concern for women in rural areas,such as low-calorie preparation oftraditional ‘Southern’ dishes,strategies for coping with a lack offamily support for weight loss andMICHAEL G. PERRI, PH.D.techniques for healthful eating awayfrom home,” said Perri, a professor of clinical and health psychology.After the weight-loss portion of the study, participants wererandomly assigned to one of three 12-month follow-up programs tohelp them keep the weight off: face-to-face group counseling, phonecounseling or a comparison group that received written educationalmaterials. Participants were encouraged to use weight-controlstrategies and asked to log food intake on at least two weekdays andone weekend day per week.Adherence to the behavioral weight control program, asmeasured by the food intake records, was significantly higher inthe phone and in-person groups.“The completion of written self-monitoring records was thesingle best behavioral predictor of weight change,” Perri said.Although phone and in-person counseling were equally effectivein helping participants maintain weight loss, program expenses perparticipant for phone counseling were half the cost of face-to-facecounseling — $397 on average for in-person counseling versus $192for those in the phone group. Phone counseling also offers otherbenefits for people in rural areas, researchers say.“Because distance represents a major barrier to medical care inrural areas, the availability of a treatment modality that does notrequire time and costs for travel and attendance at clinic visitsrepresents a potentially important approach to providing ongoingcare to rural residents,” Perri said. PPOST12•08 / 01•0910 POSTVisit us online @ http://news.health.ufl.edu for the latest news and HSC events.