Wearable Devices and Mobile Technologies for Supporting Behavioral Weight Loss Among People with Serious Mental Illness

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Psychiatry Res
• Personal Author:
  Naslund, John A. ; Aschbrenner, Kelly A. ; Scherer, Emily A. ; McHugo, Gregory J. ; Marsch, Lisa A. ; Bartels, Stephen J.
• Description:
  Promoting physical activity is essential for addressing elevated cardiovascular risk and high obesity rates affecting people with serious mental illness. Numerous challenges interfere with exercise participation in this high-risk group including mental health symptoms, low motivation, and limited access to safe and affordable options for physical activity. Wearable devices and mobile health technologies may afford new opportunities for promoting physical activity and supporting behavioral weight loss efforts. This exploratory study examined whether daily step count measured using Fitbit wearable devices was associated with weight loss and improved fitness among individuals with serious mental illness enrolled in a 6-month lifestyle program. Participants (n=34) had a schizophrenia spectrum disorder (23.5%), major depression (50.0%), or bipolar disorder (26.5%), and wore Fitbits most of the days (M=86.2%; SD=18.4%) they were enrolled in the study. At 6-months, higher average daily step count was associated with greater weight loss (F=5.07; df=1,32; p=0.0314), but not improved fitness (F=1.92; df=1,31; p=0.176). These findings demonstrate that encouraging participants with serious mental illness enrolled in lifestyle interventions to collect more steps may contribute to greater weight loss. This suggests that wearable devices may offer a feasible and potentially effective strategy for supporting behavioral weight loss in community mental health settings.
• Keywords:
  Adult Bipolar Disorder Cardiovascular Diseases Depressive Disorder, Major Diet, Healthy Exercise Female Fitness Fitness Trackers Humans Life Style Male Mental Disorders Mental Health MHealth Middle Aged Obesity Physical Activity Risk Factors Schizophrenia Serious Mental Illness Telemedicine Treatment Outcome Wearable Devices Weight Loss Weight Reduction Programs

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• Source:
  Psychiatry Res. 244:139-144
• Pubmed ID:
  27479104
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC5026936
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  P30 DA029926/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R01 MH089811/MH/NIMH NIH HHSUnited States/ ; U48 DP005018/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHSUnited States/ ; U48DP005018/ACL HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  244
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:3beb30477af505d4da1db2aba757b607c1f6e20c8eec4d91dfd5923612625184
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/41383/cdc_41383_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 151.86 KB ]