Presentation at eHealth consultation northern Netherlands, organized by Rob Giel Research Centre (UMCG), held in October 2013.Presentation on obesity issues and use of online Dialectical Behavioral Therapy to launch a research proposal.
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There is a growing number of eHealth interventionsaiming at enhancing lifestyle to address obesity. However, theexisting interventions do not take the emotional aspects ofobesity into account. Forty percent of the overweight populationis an emotional eater. Emotional eaters gain weight because ofpoor emotion regulation, not just due to bad eating habits. Weaim at developing a personalised virtual coach ‘Denk je zèlf!’providing support for self-regulation of emotions for obeseemotional eaters. This paper presents a research study protocolon validating persuasive coaching strategies in emotionregulation, based on Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, ultimatelytargeting behaviour change. Our goal is to design a personalisedeCoaching framework, allowing us to optimally translatesuccessful behaviour change mechanisms and techniques, suchas dialectical strategies, into personalised persuasive coachingstrategies.
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Aim and method: To examine in obese people the potential effectiveness of a six-week, two times weekly aquajogging program on body composition, fitness, health-related quality of life and exercise beliefs. Fifteen otherwise healthy obese persons participated in a pilot study. Results: Total fat mass and waist circumference decreased 1.4 kg (p = .03) and 3.1 cm (p = .005) respectively. The distance in the Six-Minute Walk Test increased 41 meters (p = .001). Three scales of the Impact of Weight on Quality of Life-Lite questionnaire improved: physical function (p = .008), self-esteem (p = .004), and public distress (p = .04). Increased perceived exercise benefits (p = .02) and decreased embarrassment (p = .03) were observed. Conclusions: Aquajogging was associated with reduced body fat and waist circumference, and improved aerobic fitness and quality of life. These findings suggest the usefulness of conducting a randomized controlled trial with long-term outcome assessments.
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