This article is focused on the effectiveness of Facebook-delivered lifestyle counseling and physical activity self-monitoring on physical Activity and body mass index in overweight and obese adolescents aged 13-16. This study was a three-arm randomized control trial and the intervention spanned over 12 weeks. The researchers hypothesized that the Facebook-delivered lifestyle counselling intervention and self-monitoring of physical activity would be more effective at improving physical activity and reducing sedentary time and BMI compared to a Facebook-delivered lifestyle counselling intervention without physical activity self-monitoring or a control group. Further, they additionally thought that the Facebook-delivered lifestyle counselling intervention would be more effective at improving physical activity and decreasing sedentary time and BMI compared to a control group.
The three-armed RCT design included two intervention groups and one control group, one of the intervention groups received Facebook-delivered lifestyle counseling and the Polar Active physical activity monitor and the second intervention group received Facebook-delivered lifestyle counseling without the monitor. The control group did not receive either. The Facebook intervention period was during the school term in the spring of 2012 and a physiotherapist acted as the tutor every weekday and a dietitian visited the group once a week. The tutor shared material and read posts, commented on them, and answered questions. The Facebook-delivered lifestyle counselling intervention included the following components: (1) informational support, (2) social support, (3) behavioral management skills, and (4) menu and tailored exercise programmed suggestions.
Discussions with parents and adolescents involved with adolescents were help weekly dealing with how to motivate positive behavior change and adolescents and parents had the opportunity to make suggestions to the exercise program. The other intervention group received the Facebook-delivered lifestyle counseling and the activity monitor, which tracked the intensity and duration of their daily physical activity as well as their sedentary time in minutes per day. There was additionally a physical activity questionnaire to assess adolescents’ self-reports of their physical activity as well as screen time and the questionnaire included demographics.
Researchers analyzed all changes in objectively measured and self-reported physical activity and BMI from baseline to the 12-week postintervention measurements between groups. Statistical analysis was carried out to determine if results were significant. The changes in objectively measured and self-reported physical activity and BMI from baseline to the 12-week postintervention measurement are reported in Table 2. There were no significant differences between the intervention group and control group in terms of the changes in objectively measured (sedentary time or very light physical activity, light, moderate, and vigorous physical activity) or self-reported physical activity, screen time, or BMI from the baseline to the 12-week postintervention measurements
In conclusion, the 12-week Facebook-delivered lifestyle counseling intervention with or without the self-monitoring of physical activity did not affect the objective measurement of physical activity or the BMI among these already overweight/obsese adolescents. In this study, the lifestyle counselling intervention with or without the monitoring of physical activity did not affect adolescent’s BMI. That being said, there was an observed decrease in BMI in the Fb group among 12 out of the 16 participants who received the Facebook-delivered lifestyle counselling intervention. These results are encouraging, and the Facebook-delivered lifestyle counselling intervention should be used to test a larger number of participants. It would also be beneficial to do a follow-up assessment to evaluate whether the BMI remains the same later.
Findings indicate that Facebook has the potential to promote physical activity, but this intervention structure was not effective. Lifestyle counseling for overweight and obese adolescents should not only encourage them to increase their daily activity, but also encourage them to reduce their sedentary time/ low intensity habits. There should be a more streamlined population/region for this study in order to culturally-adjust the online intervention. A monitor tool should be more tailored to these individuals and there should be a larger study population/study period as well moving forward. The participant recruitment process should also involve more variety of staff to obtain a larger number of participants or a multicenter trial. These are all good recommendations for future implementation of health interventions utilizing Facebook and other forms of social media.
