Web-Enabled Feedback Control Over Energy Balance Promotes an Increase in Physical Activity and a Reduction of Body Weight and Disease Risk in Overweight Sedentary Adults

Lutz Erwin Kraushaar, Alexander Krämer

This study aims to investigate whether a Web-based tool will facilitate the adoption of feedback control over calorie balance in overweight individuals, thereby promoting an increase of physical activity and a reduction of body weight and cardiovascular risk factors. This is a prospective exercise intervention study, commencing with a minimum weekly 3 × 20-min requirement of high-intensity interval training and requirement for Web-based self-monitoring and self-reporting of exercise and body weight. Subjects of this study include 83 overweight, sedentary, otherwise healthy adults aged 26-68 years. Anthropometric parameters, body fat, peak oxygen consumption, self-reported physical activity, frequency of use of the Web-based tool are among the characters measured in this study. This 24-week intervention substantially increased time spent for exercise (mean and median of 135 and 170 min/week, respectively) among the 72 % of participants who had adopted cognitive feedback control vs. no increase in the remaining participants of nonadopters. Adopters witnessed significantly improved peak oxygen consumption of >1 metabolic equivalent vs. no improvement among nonadopters. Adopters also reduced body mass index, body weight, and body fat by 1.6 kg/m(2), 4.8 kg, and 3.6 kg, respectively vs. 0.4 kg/m(2), 1.4 kg, and 1.1 kg in the control group. The increase in physical activity came at virtually no intervention effort of the investigators. This study demonstrates for the first time that adoption of cognitive feedback control over energy balance is possible with the help of a simple Web-based tool and that overweight adopters self-regulate exercise volume to significantly reduce body weight and improve biomarkers of fitness and cardiovascular risk.