Participants in an online diabetes prevention program have maintained reductions in body weight and average blood sugar levels — two critical indicators of diabetes progression — over a two-year period, according to a recent study.
San Francisco-based digital health company Omada Health developed a program called Prevent that translates the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Diabetes Prevention Program from an in-person curriculum to a digitally based one.
"The scale of the chronic disease epidemic in this country is staggering," said Omada Health CEO Sean Duffy. "It demands innovative, scalable models for behavior and lifestyle change — especially for those at risk for diabetes or heart disease."
Prevent is a 16-week immersive program that includes a weekly curriculum focused on improving diet and physical activity as well as individualized health coaching, small group support and smart technology to help people make lasting lifestyle changes.
In a study, Prevent program participants completed the 16-week guide while having their weight recorded using a wireless scale. They also received A1c test kits at baseline, half-year, 1-year, and 2-year time points.
Highlighted below are three results found in the study.
1. Prevent participants achieved a 4.7 percent average weight loss after one year, maintaining a 4.2 percent average weight loss after two years.
2. The study showed a sustained and clinically meaningful reduction in hemoglobin A1c, a key marker of average blood sugar and diabetes progression, after two years. On average, Prevent users moved from levels associated with prediabetes into a range associated with normal blood sugar levels.
3. Prevent participants also exceeded CDC benchmarks for engagement and program completion.
"Traditional behavioral treatments have difficulty maintaining patient engagement and lifestyle changes," said Cameron Sepah, PhD, the study's lead author and Omada Health's medical director. "This study demonstrates that digital therapeutics like Prevent have the potential to disrupt — and vastly improve — the way we deliver group-based intensive behavioral counseling to the millions of Americans at risk for deadly, and costly, chronic disease."
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