Retention and weight outcomes after transitioning an intensive behavioral weight management program from an in-person to a virtual format

Background: Virtual care offers many potential advantages over traditional in-person care for people with chronic diseases including obesity. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual care was not broadly implemented because of regulatory, legal, and reimbursement barriers.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of the transition from an entirely in-person format to a virtual format during the COVID-19 pandemic on retention and weight reduction in a 2-year, structured, intensive behavioral weight management program for people with moderate to severe obesity.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study of 1313 program participants stratified according to the phase of the program during which the transition to virtual visits occurred.

Results: Age, sex, and baseline weight were independent predictors of program retention. Transition to virtual visits was associated with greater 2-year program retention. Retention but not mode of program delivery was associated with reduction in weight at 2-year.

Conclusions: Transition from in-person to virtual program delivery improved retention and by doing so, indirectly improved weight loss at 2 years. Telemedicine has the potential to overcome many of the limitations associated with traditional in-person weight loss interventions.

Clinical trial registration: This research was reviewed and approved by the University of Michigan Institutional Review Board and registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02043457). All participants provided written informed consent.