The goal of this trial was to investigate whether an eHealth lifestyle coaching programme led to significant weight loss and decreased Haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in patients with type 2 diabetes. In an RCT, 170 patients were enrolled from 2018 to 2019 for intervention or control. Inclusion criteria were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, BMI 30–45 kg/m2, and aged 18–70 years. Exclusion criteria were lacks internet access, pregnant or planning a pregnancy, or has a serious disease. Primary and secondary outcomes were a reduction in body weight and HbA1c. At six months, 75 (75%) patients in the intervention group and 53 (76%) patients in the control group remained in the trial. The mean body weight loss was 4.2 kg (95% CI, −5.49; −2.98) in the intervention group and 1.5 kg (95% CI, −2.57; −0.48) in the control group (p = 0.005). In the intervention group, 24 out of 62 patients with elevated HbA1c at baseline (39%) had a normalized HbA1c < 6.5% at six months, compared to 8 out of 40 patients with elevated HbA1c at baseline (20%) in the control group (p = 0.047). The eHealth lifestyle coaching programme can lead to significant weight loss and decreased HbA1c among patients with type 2 diabetes, compared to standard care.

Long-term weight loss can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes for people living with obesity and reduce complications for patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. We investigated whether a telehealth lifestyle-coaching program (Liva) leads to long-term (24 months) weight loss compared to usual care. In a randomized controlled trial, n = 340 participants living with obesity with or without type 2 diabetes were enrolled and randomized via an automated computer algorithm to an intervention group ( n = 200) or to a control group ( n = 140). The telehealth lifestyle-coaching program comprised of an initial one-hour face-to-face motivational interview followed by asynchronous telehealth coaching. The behavioural change techniques used were enabled by individual live monitoring. The primary outcome was a change in body weight from baseline to 24 months. Data were assessed for n = 136 participants (40%), n = 81 from the intervention group and n = 55 from the control group, who completed the 24-month follow-up. After 24 months mean body weight and body mass index were reduced significantly for completers in both groups, but almost twice as much was registered for those in the intervention group which was not significant between groups −4.4 (CI −6.1; −2.8) kg versus −2.5 (CI −3.9; −1.1) kg, P = 0.101. Haemoglobin A1c was significantly reduced in the intervention group −3.1 (CI −5.0; −1.2) mmol/mol, but not in the control group −0.2 (CI −2.4; −2.0) mmol/mol without a significant between group difference ( P = 0.223). Low completion was partly due to coronavirus disease 2019. Telehealth lifestyle coaching improve long-term weight loss (> 24 months) for obese people with and without type 2 diabetes compared to usual care.

Background Long-term weight loss in people living with obesity can reduce the risk and progression of noncommunicable diseases. Observational studies suggest that digital coaching can lead to long-term weight loss. Objective We investigated whether an eHealth lifestyle coaching program for people living with obesity with or without type 2 diabetes led to significant, long-term (12-month) weight loss compared to usual care. Methods In a randomized controlled trial that took place in 50 municipalities in Denmark, 340 people living with obesity with or without type 2 diabetes were enrolled from April 16, 2018, to April 1, 2019, and randomized via an automated computer algorithm to an intervention (n=200) or a control (n=140) group. Patients were recruited via their general practitioners, the Danish diabetes organization, and social media. The digital coaching intervention consisted of an initial 1-hour face-to-face motivational interview followed by digital coaching using behavioral change techniques enabled by individual live monitoring. The primary outcome was change in body weight from baseline to 12 months. Results Data were assessed for 200 participants, including 127 from the intervention group and 73 from the control group, who completed 12 months of follow-up. After 12 months, mean body weight and BMI were significantly reduced in both groups but significantly more so in the intervention group than the control group (–4.5 kg, 95% CI –5.6 to –3.4 vs –1.5 kg, 95% CI –2.7 to –0.2, respectively; P<.001; and –1.5 kg/m2, 95% CI –1.9 to –1.2 vs –0.5 kg/m2, 95% CI –0.9 to –0.1, respectively; P<.001). Hemoglobin A1c was significantly reduced in both the intervention (–6.0 mmol/mol, 95% CI –7.7 to –4.3) and control (–4.9 mmol/mol, 95% CI –7.4 to –2.4) groups, without a significant group difference (all P>.46). Conclusions Compared to usual care, digital lifestyle coaching can induce significant weight loss for people living with obesity, both with and without type 2 diabetes, after 12 months. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03788915; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03788915