Press Release: New Study Highlights Noom’s Efficacy for Older Adults
The paper, published today in JMIR Diabetes, is the first of its kind that shows age as a predictor of weight in a mobile health intervention.
NEW YORK, June 04, 2020 — Noom, the behavior change pioneer harnessing the latest innovations in psychology to help people live healthier lives, announced the release of a new study revealing that age is a predictor of weight in a mobile health intervention.
The findings, published today in the Journal of Medical Internet Research Diabetes , followed 14,767 Noom Healthy Weight (HW) and Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) participants aged 35-85 years old over a 52-week period. The results showed that as age increased by 1 year, weight decreased by 0.12 kg, suggesting that older adults lost more weight over time during the core curriculum (16 weeks) than their younger study counterparts. Participants met the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) standards for healthy weight loss, which state that individuals who lose 5% or more of body weight can benefit from a reduced risk of chronic diseases related to obesity.
“We created Noom to help all people — regardless of their age — live healthier lives,” says Saeju Jeong, CEO and cofounder of Noom. “This new research is an exciting and important milestone for us, as it validates the work we’ve been doing and proves that Noom’s Healthy Weight and Diabetes Prevention program are a safe and sustainable approach for overweight and obese adults of all ages looking to manage their weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle.”
“The prevalence of obesity and diabetes among middle-aged and older adults is on the rise, and with an increase in the world population of adults 60 years and older, the demand for health interventions across age groups is growing,” says Laura DeLuca, clinical research coordinator at Noom and the first author of the paper. “While older adults had high attendance rates with in-person DPP meetings, this new research tells us that mobile health interventions — which are often a more convenient and accessible option than in-person sessions — are also a viable solution worth additional clinical research for the aging population.”
Within the research, differences were found between Noom’s CDC-recognized DPP and HW users, whereby DPP users lost more weight (8.1% body weight) compared to HW users (5.2% body weight) after 1 year. This suggests that there may be motivational differences between the users in each curriculum, namely, that DPP participants may be motivated by the desire to address underlying health conditions versus weight loss alone.
Noom’s success positively impacting health outcomes and adherence to a healthier lifestyle through research, studies, and programs comes on the heels of recent announcements of its expansion into the life sciences sector. Last month, the company announced a study revealing that participants with prediabetes significantly reduced their weight and BMI when receiving Noom’s coach-guided mobile DPP without the added in-person barriers of other DPP interventions. Noom has also partnered with Novo Nordisk to develop custom programs to accompany its obesity medication, Saxenda, and announced a partnership with the integrated life sciences provider EVERSANA.
For complete methodology and results, click here. More information on Noom’s Healthy Weight program can be found at: https://www.noom.com/healthy-weight-program.
