# Effects of a comprehensive management mode for overweight/obesity based on mobile internet technology and traditional Chinese medicine constitution theory: a randomized controlled trial

## TL;DR

A new obesity management approach combining mobile technology and traditional Chinese medicine led to better long-term weight loss and improved health markers.

## Contribution

A novel obesity management mode integrating mHealth and TCM constitution theory with long-term follow-up and microbiota analysis.

## Key findings

- The intervention group had a 75% effective weight loss rate at 1 year, significantly higher than the control group's 35%.
- The intervention group showed greater reductions in body weight, BMI, body fat, and blood lipid levels compared to the control group.
- Gut microbiota changes, including increased Cyanobacteria and decreased Euryarchaeota, were observed in the intervention group.

## Abstract

We aimed to investigate the overall effectiveness of a comprehensive management mode for overweight/obesity based on mobile internet technology and TCM constitution theory.

40 subjects were enrolled and randomly divided into control group (traditional obesity management mode) and intervention group (comprehensive obesity management mode). The intervention period was 8 weeks, and the follow-up period was 1 year. The information of body indicators, blood indicators and gut microbiota indicators at baseline, 8 weeks and 1 year were collected and analyzed, the primary outcome was the effective weight loss (≥5% body weight loss) rate at 1 year.

The average age of 40 subjects was 40.3 ± 9.49 years old, with 18 males accounting for 45%. The effective weight loss rate of intervention group was significantly higher than control group (75% vs. 35%; p = 0.025) at 1 year. The body weight (6.88 ± 4.00 vs. 3.08 ± 2.35, p = 0.001), BMI(2.38 ± 1.23 vs. 1.10 ± 0.87, p = 0.001), body fat rate(BFR; 1.8 ± 0.85 vs. 0.82 ± 0.60, p = 0.001), fasting plasma glucose (FPG; 1.08 ± 0.69 vs. 0.49 ± 0.91, p = 0.027), total cholesterol (TC; 1.72 ± 0.60 vs. 0.77 ± 0.57, p = 0.001), Triglyceride (TG; 0.56 ± 0.52 vs. 0.16 ± 0.22, p = 0.003), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C; 1.35 ± 0.49 vs. 0.71 ± 0.50, p = 0.001), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP; 1.80 ± 1.96 vs. 0.60 ± 1.57, p = 0.039) decreased more significant in the intervention group. The gut microbiota analysis showed that after intervention, in the intervention group, at phylum level, the Cyanobacteria abundance increased (p = 0.040), while the Euryarchaeota abundance decreased (p = 0.045). In addition, the functional abundance of Photosynthesis decreased (p = 0.008).

The comprehensive overweight/obesity management mode integrating mHealth with TCM constitution showed more significant long-term weight loss effects. The increase of Cyanobacteria and decrease of Euryarchaeota may be associated with this effect, warranting further investigation.

https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=43245, Identifier, ChiCTR1900025881.