A pilot study on traditional vs. digital self-administered questionnaire completion in the International Weight Control Registry

IF 2.9 Q3 NUTRITION & DIETETICS

Clinical nutrition ESPEN Pub Date : 2025-03-13 DOI:10.1016/j.clnesp.2025.03.015

Dimitrios Poulimeneas , Costas A. Anastasiou , Evgenia-Eleni Vlachogianni , Amalia Charokopou , Myrto Bitsa , Sai Krupa Das , Drew Sayer , Susan B. Roberts , James O. Hill , Mary Yannakoulia

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background & aim

Scarce reports on the characteristics of individuals choosing to enroll in obesity-related registries via digital or traditional methods exist. We examined whether characteristics of participants who enrolled in the International Weight Control Registry (IWCR) via digital surveys differed from those who enrolled with paper surveys.

Methods

This manuscript describes the pilot phase of IWCR recruitment of eligible participants from one collaborating country. The IWCR includes questionnaires capturing biological, behavioral, environmental and psychosocial domains of weight management. All adult individuals with an intentional weight loss history, regardless of it being successful or not, are eligible to participate. Two invitations for participation were sent out. Firstly, potential participants were invited to complete the survey digitally; then, in the second invitation, potential volunteers were invited to complete the survey on paper.

Results

A total of 69 persons with weight loss experiences completed this pilot survey (40 on-paper, 29 digitally). No differences were detected in the sex distribution and the level of education between groups (all p > 0.05). Fewer participants in the on-paper group reported to have experienced significant weight loss in their adult life (70.0 vs 100 %, p = 0.001). Maximum Body Mass Index (BMI) and initial weight loss (%) were similar in both groups, however the digital group reported significantly greater weight loss maintenance (86.5 vs 43.8 % of the initial weight loss, p = 0.008). More persons in the digital group reported to have achieved their current weight by linear weight loss (rapid or not) vs. through a series of weight loss cycles (p = 0.008).

Conclusion

The different modes of engagement (digital vs. paper) may target different people. Traditional means of questionnaire completion were more appealing in individuals with less successful weight loss efforts. These preliminary results suggest that offering both online and paper versions of registry questionnaires may support data collection in a broader population demographic.

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来源期刊

Clinical nutrition ESPEN NUTRITION & DIETETICS-

CiteScore

4.90

自引率

3.30%

发文量

512

期刊介绍： Clinical Nutrition ESPEN is an electronic-only journal and is an official publication of the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN). Nutrition and nutritional care have gained wide clinical and scientific interest during the past decades. The increasing knowledge of metabolic disturbances and nutritional assessment in chronic and acute diseases has stimulated rapid advances in design, development and clinical application of nutritional support. The aims of ESPEN are to encourage the rapid diffusion of knowledge and its application in the field of clinical nutrition and metabolism. Published bimonthly, Clinical Nutrition ESPEN focuses on publishing articles on the relationship between nutrition and disease in the setting of basic science and clinical practice. Clinical Nutrition ESPEN is available to all members of ESPEN and to all subscribers of Clinical Nutrition.