Quality of information of websites dedicated to obesity: a systematic search to promote high level of information for Internet users and professionals

Abstract

Background The Internet is increasingly used as a source of information. This study investigates with a multidimensional methodology the quality of information of websites dedicated to obesity treatment and weight-loss interventions. We compared websites in English, a language that it is used for the international scientific divulgation, and in Italian, a popular local language. Methods Level of Evidence: Level I, systematic review search on four largely used search engines. Duplicated and unrelated websites were excluded. We checked: popularity with PageRank; technological quality with Nibbler; readability with the Flesch Reading Ease test or the Gulpease readability index; quality of information with the DISCERN scale, the JAMA benchmark criteria, and the adherence to the Health on the Net Code. Results 63 Italian websites and 41 English websites were evaluated. English websites invested more in the technological quality especially for the marketing, experience of the user, and mobile accessibility. Both the Italian and English websites were of poor quality and readability. Conclusions These results can inform guidelines for the improvement of health information and help Internet users to achieve a higher level of information. Users must find benefits of treatment, support to the shared decision-making, the sources used, the medical editor's supervision, and the risk of postponing the treatment.

Psychological therapy in overweight and obesity treatment centers. Do the centers include it on their websites?

“…As revealed by other studies [21], in agreement with our findings, the available web resources do not always indicate all treatments nor the importance of the multidisciplinary approach, paying little attention to the risks and benefits of each treatment and the lifestyle changes. The growth of the internet is an added challenge for health professionals and patients who are, in turn, consumers.…”

“…This raises the need to identify quality information to prevent fast diets and immediate solutions that rely on vulnerable social groups. This situation could be reflected in the unstoppable increase in obesity cases, the number of relapses, or the increase in Eating Disorders cases [21,22]. The findings of this study highlight a substantial gap in recognition of the psychological impact of this disease and a lack of knowledge of the psychologists in the approach to this condition.…”

Posicionamiento y calidad en Webs vinculadas a la psicología de la obesidad.

“…En relación a los tratamientos, de los 32 recursos centrados en la obesidad solo el 31.25% mencionaban el abordaje psicológico como una opción terapéutica. Como revelan otros estudios (Perra et al, 2022), los recursos disponibles no siempre indicaban todos los tipos de tratamientos ni la importancia del abordaje multidisciplinar, prestándose, además, poca atención a los riesgos y beneficios de cada tratamiento y a los cambios en el estilo de vida.…”

“…Por otro lado, es vital enfatizar que, en esta era digital, la información vinculada a la salud también forma parte del proceso de prevención siendo urgente aumentar la visibilidad de la psicología también en la prevención de la enfermedad (Perra et al, 2022) y siendo crucial su acompañamiento tanto a nivel individual como comunitario.…”

Popularity of Surgical and Pharmacological Obesity Treatment Methods Searched by Google Users: the Retrospective Analysis of Google Trends Statistics in 2004–2022

“…The quality and clarity of online information, both globally and locally, are crucial. Yet, the quality of many obesity [ 33 ] and bariatric surgery websites is disappointing [ 34 , 35 ]. It is essential for the professional obesity community to enhance online resources, helping patients to make informed choices that adhere to best practice standards.…”