Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Occupational Health, Weight Research / 01.08.2021
Newtopia: Successful Weight Loss During Covid-19 with a Virtual Habit Change Provider
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Jeff Ruby, JD, MBA, Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Leonard Fensterheim, MPH
Vice President of Analytics
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are common weight-change findings during the pandemic?
Obesity has been linked to increased risk of serious complications and the need for costly medical utilization – all of which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. There has been an increase of imposed restrictions that impact healthy lifestyles – the closing of gyms as an example – leading to additional stress and the complete disruption of daily lives. It’s no surprise that many people have gained weight since the beginning of the pandemic.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), before the pandemic, about 40% of Americans had obesity in the United States. This was already an alarming figure, but given that the American Psychological Association found that 42% of U.S. adults report undesired weight gain, with an average gain of 29 lbs. since the start of the pandemic, we expect that percentage has continued to grow.
Against this backdrop, Newtopia sought to evaluate the impact of a guided habit change program on weight loss for 12 months during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Method:
Jeff Ruby, JD, MBA, Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Leonard Fensterheim, MPH
Vice President of Analytics
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are common weight-change findings during the pandemic?
Obesity has been linked to increased risk of serious complications and the need for costly medical utilization – all of which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. There has been an increase of imposed restrictions that impact healthy lifestyles – the closing of gyms as an example – leading to additional stress and the complete disruption of daily lives. It’s no surprise that many people have gained weight since the beginning of the pandemic.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), before the pandemic, about 40% of Americans had obesity in the United States. This was already an alarming figure, but given that the American Psychological Association found that 42% of U.S. adults report undesired weight gain, with an average gain of 29 lbs. since the start of the pandemic, we expect that percentage has continued to grow.
Against this backdrop, Newtopia sought to evaluate the impact of a guided habit change program on weight loss for 12 months during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Method:
- This was a retrospective study that looked at 1436 participants who began participating in the Newtopia experience in early 2020.
- This analysis focused on weight change and was restricted to those participants with a body mass index >
- 52% of participants were female, and the average age of the total study population was 46.5 years old (±10.6).
- The percentage of participants with a 4.3% weight reduction after 12 months was assessed. This has been shown to be associated with meaningful reduction in healthcare costs.
- The average weight loss and the percentage BMI decrease was also assessed.
- 77% of participants lost weight.
- 44% of participants had a weight loss of >3%.
- Average weight loss was 4.2% (p<.0001).
- 22% of obese participants dropped a BMI category.