According to new study, technology by itself cannot properly substitute human trainers when it comes to weight loss.

As obesity remains a problem and places a burden on health services, there is a need for affordable, efficient obesity therapies that are facilitated by technology, according to experts.

They also mention that although AI chatbots could eventually be able to take the position of human trainers, current technology is not yet developed enough to do so.

Because the technology isn't quite there yet, the ordinary person still requires a human coach in order to reach clinically relevant weight loss objectives.

Professor Bonnie Spring

Bonnie Spring, a professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in the United States and head of the Center for Behavior and Health, stated: “Giving people technology alone for the initial phase of obesity treatment produces unacceptably worse weight loss than giving them treatment that combines technology with a human coach.”

Prof Spring, corresponding study author, added: “At this stage, the average person still needs a human coach to achieve clinically meaningful weight loss goals because the tech isn’t sufficiently developed yet.

“We may not be so far away from having an AI chatbot that can sub for a human, but we are not quite there yet. It’s within reach. The tech is developing really fast.”

According to the study, individuals who started out with no coach assistance and just technology—which included weight loss lessons—had a lower chance of making substantial weight reduction progress, which is defined as losing at least 5% of body weight, than those who started out with a human coach.

If a patient demonstrated less than ideal weight reduction, the researchers rapidly increased therapy; nevertheless, the study also indicated that the weight loss disadvantage for those who began without coach help lasted for six months.

It has been indicated by earlier studies that mobile health apps for monitoring weight, nutrition, and exercise encourage the use of behaviors related to obesity, however it is unclear if these tools resulted in clinically meaningful weight reduction when used without the assistance of a coach.

The latest study, which was published in Jama, found that half of the participants began their weight reduction regimen only using technology. The other half started with gold-standard care that included a human coach in addition to technology.

Participants in the experiment tracked and received data on their weight, activity level, and diet using a Wireless data System, which included a Fitbit, a Wi-Fi scale, and an integrated app.

Approximately 400 persons with obesity, aged 18 to 60, were randomized to start a three-month treatment plan that included either the Wireless Feedback System (WFS) just or the WFS with remote coaching.

After two, four, and eight weeks of therapy, weight loss was monitored, and the first indication of less than ideal weight reduction prompted an increase in treatment.

Both groups received the identical WFS tracking equipment at the beginning of their treatments; however, standard-of-care therapy additionally sent the digital data to a coach, who used it for behavioral coaching.