One short quiz could help people stick to their weight loss plans

A new study, published in JMIR Formative Research, has found that people who answered a brief quiz to determine their “eating profile” were more likely to stick with their program and stay committed to their weight loss goals when offered personalized advice.

The study—led by researchers at City St George’s, University of London—involved 148 U.K. adults who enrolled in a free 12-week digital weight management program commissioned by the NHS. Based on a 17-question quiz, the study grouped participants into four profiles when it came to eating habits. They then received weekly personalized advice over a seven-week period through the Oviva weight loss app.

How the eating profiles were used

The four profiles were: “maladaptive comfort-eaters” who often feel guilt and shame over food, food-lovers, people who find it hard to achieve their own goals and “well-adjusted” people who just can’t seem to control their weight.

Depending on what group they were put into, participants received weekly emails with advice tailored to their eating habits. Comfort-eaters were asked to focus on reducing restriction and binge-eating with tools like mindfulness and self-compassion. The food-lovers addressed their overeating by enjoying smaller portions of the food they liked and developing sensory eating techniques.

Those struggling to commit to their goals were encouraged to start with very small daily habits to build momentum, and develop new routines in manageable ways, and the “well-adjusted” group were advised to improve the quality of their diet, for example by adding more vegetables to their diet, choosing foods that took longer to eat and adopting a flexible eating approach (such as a diet of 80% healthy food and 20% less healthy food).

Results and researcher perspectives

Those who received tailored advice showed significantly higher engagement with the app—such as logging meals and communicating with coaches more often—compared to a historical cohort from the same program a year earlier, and to individuals who did not complete the profiling questionnaire.

There was a 61.5% increase in engagement compared to the historical group and a 90.5% increase in engagement compared to the group who did not take the quiz.

Average weight loss was also greater in the group who took the quiz, although the difference was not statistically significant within the seven-week time frame. The researchers say this might be because the trial was too short to have a significant impact and now want to track results over a longer timeframe.

Dr. Joanna Szypula, a behavior change researcher from City St George’s, University of London, who led the study, said, “Obesity affects over a quarter of adults in the UK and is a leading cause of preventable illness and rising health care costs. This is one of the first studies of its kind, and it points to the potential of personalized programs to drive down these numbers by getting people motivated and engaged in their own weight loss.

“Weight loss is personal—what works for one person may not work for another. By identifying these behavior profiles, we can help people work out what is most likely to hold them back on their journey to a healthier lifestyle. The good news is all the factors we looked at can potentially be tackled and changed.”

Researchers say larger, randomized trials with longer follow-up times are needed to determine whether the increased engagement translates to meaningful weight loss.