Monitoring your weight-loss process online: prior weight-loss experiences, online social support and subsequent weight-loss success (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Online weight-loss communities (OWCs) have been becoming increasingly popular for weight management, which enable individuals to monitor (i.e. self-monitoring) and discuss (i.e. social interaction) their weight-loss experiences. However, there has been limited understanding of the role of individuals’ prior weight-loss experiences in subsequent weight-loss success, especially in online settings. OBJECTIVE To address the significant literature gap, this study investigates the relationship between prior weight-loss experiences (success or failure), online social support and subsequent weight-loss success in the contexts of OWCs based on self-determination theory. METHODS The data of 1650 users from one popular OWC is collected using a python crawler procedure, including individuals’ characteristics (e.g. gender, age, friends, posts, membership duration) and weight-loss diary information. Two logit regression models are deployed to estimate the effects of prior weight-loss experiences and social support on subsequent weight-loss success, as well as the moderation effect of social support. RESULTS The results reveal that prior successful weight-loss experiences are positively related to subsequent weight-loss success (β=0.376,p0.1). CONCLUSIONS This study contributes to literature on prior experiences and online social support in the context of OWCs, and provides valuable insights for OWCs’ designs to improve users’ engagement and their weight-loss success.