Changes in body weight after attending a 7-week behavior modification program: the case study of personnel in the Department of Disease Control
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14456/dcj.2023.19Keywords:
weight control program, BMI, workplace, applicationAbstract
This report aims to assess changes in body weight of a group of personnel after attending the 7-week behavior modification program with a new normal approach in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic. A quasi-experiment, one-group pretest-posttest design was used to collect data of an experimental group with non-randomized selection and no control group. Weight and height data of the voluntary participants from the Department of Disease Control were collected before the workshop and seven weeks after the completion of the training during September to October 2020 by self-recording on the ThaiSook Mobile Application. The data was analyzed together with the information from online questionnaire at the end of the program. Descriptive statistics were utilized to analyze mean, rate of change, and frequency. Inferential statistics, i.e. Paired Samples t-test, was conducted to compare the weight differences of the participants before and after the program. The results of the study showed that the program was able to track the weight of 54 out of 137 participants throughout the program. Of these 54 participants, 72.2% had weight loss, 18.5 % had unchanged body weight, and 9.2 % had weight gain. Overall, the proportion of people with normal Body Mass Index (BMI) increased from 14.8 to 22.2 percent. A subgroup analysis of those with normal to very obese BMI found that the average weight loss was 1.4 kg per person, accounting for a 2.0 percent reduction in average body weight per person. Using the t-test matched relationship, it was found that there was a statistically significant difference in the mean body weight of the participants before and after 7 weeks. The expenditure was THB 1,280 per participant. This study suggests that the distance learning combined with data tracking by mobile application is applicable and practical for implementing a behavior modification program. For the period of 7 weeks, the participants had achieved weight loss with statistical significance.
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