Effectiveness of Automated Telephone Intervention on Behavioral and Weight Outcomes for Patients With Pre-Diabetes.

Patients diagnosed with pre-diabetes present a unique opportunity for health care providers to implement preventive practices. Behavioral intervention strategies that target weight reduction or maintenance and increased fitness not only provide exceptional cardiovascular benefits, but also play an important role in delayed development or prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). This study was designed to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of automated telephone support calls targeting physical activity and healthful eating as strategies for weight loss for patients with pre-diabetes.

Participants with pre-diabetes who participated in a 90-minute diabetes prevention class were consented to participate in this behavioral study and were then randomly assigned to receive automated telephone support targeting physical activity and nutrition weight loss strategies or to a no-contact control group. Objective physical activity (accelerometer), self-reported dietary intake, and body weight were assessed at baseline and at 3-months follow-up.