Trial reportJournal of health communication2017
Face-to-Face and Online Networks: College Students' Experiences in a Weight-Loss Trial.
Trial report in Journal of health communication, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Identifying Social Media-Based Interactions That Help Adults to Adhere to Weight Loss Goals: A Systematic Review.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026Pooled it
- Use and Effectiveness of Social-Media-Delivered Weight Loss Interventions among Teenagers and Young Adults: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Behavioural interventions delivered through interactive social media for health behaviour change, health outcomes, and health equity in the adult population.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Preferences and responses for physical activity partnerships among women in midlife with elevated risk for cardiovascular disease: a digital, mixed methods approach.Psychology & health · 2025Article
- Social comparisons between group members during behavioural weight loss treatment: comparison direction, scale, and associations with weight loss maintenance.Psychology & health · 2023Article
- Selection of and Response to Physical Activity-Based Social Comparisons in a Digital Environment: Series of Daily Assessment Studies.JMIR human factors · 2023Article
- Exercise preferences among emerging adults: Do men and women want different things?Journal of American college health : J of ACH · 2022Article
- Article
- Internet use and health in higher education students: a scoping review.Health promotion international · 2021Article
- Persuasive System Design Principles and Behavior Change Techniques to Stimulate Motivation and Adherence in Electronic Health Interventions to Support Weight Loss Maintenance: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2019Article
- #Orthorexia on Instagram: a descriptive study exploring the online conversation and community using the Netlytic software.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2019Article
- Exploring the Role of In-Person Components for Online Health Behavior Change Interventions: Can a Digital Person-to-Person Component Suffice?Journal of medical Internet research · 2018Article
- The Transition into Young Adulthood: a Critical Period for Weight Control.Current diabetes reports · 2017Review
- Article
- How online health groups help you lose weight: The role of group composition and social contact.Digital healthArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
This study aimed to understand how college students participating in a 2-year randomized controlled trial (Project SMART: Social and Mobile Approach to Reduce Weight; N = 404) engaged their social networks and used social and mobile technologies to try and lose weight. Participants in the present study (n = 20 treatment, n = 18 control) were approached after a measurement visit and administered semi-structured interviews. Interviews were analyzed using principles from grounded theory. Treatment group participants appreciated the timely support provided by the study and the integration of content across multiple technologies. Participants in both groups reported using non-study-designed apps to help them lose weight, and many participants knew one another outside of the study. Individuals talked about weight-loss goals with their friends face to face and felt accountable to follow through with their intentions. Although seeing others' success online motivated many, there was a range of perceived acceptability in talking about personal health-related information on social media. The findings from this qualitative study can inform intervention trials using social and mobile technologies to promote weight loss. For example, weight-loss trials should measure participants' use of direct-to-consumer technologies and interconnectivity so that treatment effects can be isolated and cross-contamination accounted for.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.