Aila J Ahola, Anu Joki, Mikko S Venäläinen, Sakris K E Kupila, Laura-Unnukka Suojanen, Kirsi H Pietiläinen
{"title":"Beyond the Scale: Health-Related Quality of Life and Weight Loss in a 12-Month Digital Lifestyle Intervention.","authors":"Aila J Ahola, Anu Joki, Mikko S Venäläinen, Sakris K E Kupila, Laura-Unnukka Suojanen, Kirsi H Pietiläinen","doi":"10.1159/000552284","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Obesity is associated with reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL). We examined the associations between HRQoL and weight loss in a 12-month real-world digital lifestyle intervention, the Healthy Weight Coaching (HWC) program.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>At baseline, participants self-reported their weight, height, and waist circumference, followed by weekly weight and quarterly waist tracking. HRQoL was assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months using the RAND-36, which covers eight domains (physical functioning, role limitations due to physical health, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, role limitations due to emotional problems, and mental health) where higher scores indicate better HRQoL.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Data from 1,848 participants (82.9% women, median age 52 years, median body mass index 39.1 kg/m2) showed that higher baseline body mass index correlated with lower HRQoL in physical functioning, bodily pain, general health, and social functioning. Using K-means clustering, we identified three distinct clusters: high HRQoL, physical health burden, and globally low HRQoL. Lower baseline HRQoL in vitality, role limitations due to emotional problems, and mental health, as well as membership in the globally low HRQoL cluster, predicted smaller weight loss. Participation in HWC was associated with improvements across all HRQoL domains. Each 5% weight loss corresponded to increases of 3.8 points in general health, 3.3 points in physical functioning, 2.3 points in vitality, 2.1 points in bodily pain, 1.2 points in social functioning, and 1 point in mental health. Participants who lost ≥5% of their weight experienced greater improvements in physical functioning and general health compared with those who lost <5%. Membership in the globally low HRQoL cluster and below-median baseline scores in role limitations due to physical health, general health, and vitality predicted higher dropout rate.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Digital lifestyle programs may improve both weight outcomes and the overall lived experience of individuals seeking weight management.</p>","PeriodicalId":19414,"journal":{"name":"Obesity Facts","volume":" ","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1000,"publicationDate":"2026-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13354303/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Obesity Facts","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000552284","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENDOCRINOLOGY & METABOLISM","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction: Obesity is associated with reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL). We examined the associations between HRQoL and weight loss in a 12-month real-world digital lifestyle intervention, the Healthy Weight Coaching (HWC) program.
Methods: At baseline, participants self-reported their weight, height, and waist circumference, followed by weekly weight and quarterly waist tracking. HRQoL was assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months using the RAND-36, which covers eight domains (physical functioning, role limitations due to physical health, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, role limitations due to emotional problems, and mental health) where higher scores indicate better HRQoL.
Results: Data from 1,848 participants (82.9% women, median age 52 years, median body mass index 39.1 kg/m2) showed that higher baseline body mass index correlated with lower HRQoL in physical functioning, bodily pain, general health, and social functioning. Using K-means clustering, we identified three distinct clusters: high HRQoL, physical health burden, and globally low HRQoL. Lower baseline HRQoL in vitality, role limitations due to emotional problems, and mental health, as well as membership in the globally low HRQoL cluster, predicted smaller weight loss. Participation in HWC was associated with improvements across all HRQoL domains. Each 5% weight loss corresponded to increases of 3.8 points in general health, 3.3 points in physical functioning, 2.3 points in vitality, 2.1 points in bodily pain, 1.2 points in social functioning, and 1 point in mental health. Participants who lost ≥5% of their weight experienced greater improvements in physical functioning and general health compared with those who lost <5%. Membership in the globally low HRQoL cluster and below-median baseline scores in role limitations due to physical health, general health, and vitality predicted higher dropout rate.
Conclusion: Digital lifestyle programs may improve both weight outcomes and the overall lived experience of individuals seeking weight management.
期刊介绍:
''Obesity Facts'' publishes articles covering all aspects of obesity, in particular epidemiology, etiology and pathogenesis, treatment, and the prevention of adiposity. As obesity is related to many disease processes, the journal is also dedicated to all topics pertaining to comorbidity and covers psychological and sociocultural aspects as well as influences of nutrition and exercise on body weight. The editors carefully select papers to present only the most recent findings in clinical practice and research. All professionals concerned with obesity issues will find this journal a most valuable update to keep them abreast of the latest scientific developments.