Implementing an Online Weight‐Management Intervention to an Employee Population: Initial Experience with Real Appeal

OBJECTIVE: Given the disease burden and economic costs of obesity in the United States, scalable approaches to weight loss and weight management are needed. This study evaluated self-reported weight-loss outcomes associated with a commercial intensive lifestyle intervention marketed to employers and delivered electronically to employees. METHODS: Data were collected for participants who enrolled in an online intensive lifestyle intervention weight-loss program from July 2015 through June 2016. An intent-to-treat analysis of participants who attended at least one session is reported. RESULTS: Ninety-six companies, with approximately 437,215 eligible adult beneficiaries, launched Real Appeal in July 2015. In the first 12 months of the program, 69,598 adults enrolled and 87% met at-risk criteria for prediabetes, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease. The intent-to-treat cohort (n = 52,461), all of whom attended at least one session, lost an average of 2.8% body weight, with 23% achieving 5% or more weight loss. Active participants (n = 38,836) lost an average of 3.5% body weight, with 29% achieving 5% weight loss. Program completers (n = 27,164) lost an average of 4.3% body weight, with 36% of the cohort achieving 5% weight loss. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that an employer-offered, online, behavioral weight-loss program was an effective, scalable solution for engaging more than 50,000 participants with overweight and obesity.