Effects of Information Length and Implementation Intentions on Adherence to Weight Management Strategies: Experimental Study

Khaleda Ahmadyar · Joanna Szypula · Angeliki Bogosian · Katy Tapper

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Behavioral Health and Interventions Mobile Health and mHealth Applications Media Influence and Health

Abstract

Background: Adherence to weight management strategies may be undermined where lengthy strategy explanations limit engagement and understanding, weakening intervention efficacy. By contrast, implementation intentions have been shown to promote adherence across various health behaviors. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the impact of explanation length and implementation intentions on adherence to brief weight management strategies. Methods: Participants (N=200) with a BMI above 25 and an interest in losing weight were recruited from a commercial digital weight management service provider. Participants received information about 1 of 4 weight management strategies on a smartphone app in either a brief or detailed format and were asked to plan their use of the strategy with implementation intentions or were given tips on strategy use. Participants received daily prompts over a 2-week period to report whether they used their assigned strategy. Proposed moderators (need for cognition and planning skills) were measured at baseline. Results: Strategy adherence was greater with brief information (mean 74%, SD 23%) compared with detailed information (mean 69%, SD 23%); however, this small effect size (Cohen d=0.24) was not statistically significant (P=.13). There was no moderation by need for cognition (P=.25). Adherence did not differ significantly between implementation intentions (mean 71%, SD 27%) and tips (mean 72%, SD 21%; P=.73); however, there was moderation by planning skills (P=.04). As predicted, adherence was greater with implementation intentions compared with tips among those with poorer planning skills. Conclusions: Shorter explanation length and implementation intentions (in poorer planners) may enhance adherence to brief weight management strategies, and further investigation is required to confirm these effects.

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1999Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans.1982The need for cognition.2002Intention—Behavior Relations: A Conceptual and Empirical Review 2006Implementation Intentions and Goal Achievement: A Meta‐analysis of Effects and Processes 1987Thought contents and cognitive functioning in motivational versus volitional states of mind 2012Towards parsimony in habit measurement: Testing the convergent and predictive validity of an automaticity subscale of the Self-Report Habit Index 2010Do implementation intentions help to eat a healthy diet? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the empirical evidence 2011A meta-analytic review of the effect of implementation intentions on physical activity

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