Adults Regulating Their weight Everyday with Mobile Internet Support (ARTEMIS): A randomised controlled trial
- Apps, Databases, and Digital Health
- Changing Behaviours for Better Health and Preventing Disease
Obesity is a major risk factor for preventable health conditions, and effective, scalable interventions are needed to support people in losing weight. Digital solutions, particularly mobile applications, offer a promising approach, but most effective interventions require human coaching, which increases costs and limits accessibility.
The ARTEMIS study tested whether a self-regulation-based mobile application could support weight loss without human intervention. A two-arm randomised controlled trial was conducted, comparing the mobile application with standard weight loss advice among adults with obesity. The trial also assessed whether daily weight tracking and self-monitoring might lead to or worsen disordered eating symptoms.
A total of 1,607 participants were recruited via online advertisements and randomly assigned to either use the mobile application or receive general advice to lose weight. Weight change and the proportion of participants achieving greater than 5% weight loss at six months were measured.
Impact and Implementation
The ARTEMIS app demonstrated that a fully automated, self-regulation-based intervention can effectively support weight loss without requiring human coaching. This makes it a scalable, low-cost solution that could be offered through healthcare providers, employers, or public health initiatives.
By reducing reliance on professional support, the app could help ease the burden on healthcare services while still delivering significant weight loss outcomes. The findings also suggest that ARTEMIS is equally effective across different demographic groups, meaning it has the potential to reach and benefit a broad population.
If provided free of charge, ARTEMIS could help reduce inequalities in access to weight management support, particularly for those who may struggle to afford commercial programmes. The study’s results also provide evidence to support the integration of mobile self-regulation interventions into NHS weight management services.
Further research is needed to explore long-term effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and potential NHS adoption, but ARTEMIS offers a promising digital approach to tackling obesity at scale.
Next Steps
- Long-term follow-up to assess sustained weight loss and health outcomes beyond six months.
- Enhancing engagement and retention strategies for digital weight loss interventions.
- Comparing ARTEMIS to other digital weight loss programmes in terms of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness.
- Exploring integration into NHS services, particularly within routine primary care appointments for obesity management.
Project lead / contact: Gina Wren — Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford and Paul Doody - DOODYP - Medicine | Trinity College Dublin (tcd.ie)
ARC theme: Disease Prevention Through Behaviour Change
Completed Project
Key Findings
- Participants using the ARTEMIS app lost an average of 1.85 kg more than those receiving standard weight loss advice.
- 34.9% of participants using the app achieved ≥5% weight loss, compared to 20.4% in the control group.
- Symptoms of disordered eating decreased among app users compared to the control group.
- The intervention was effective without requiring human contact, making it a scalable option for weight management.
- No significant differences were found in effectiveness based on age, sex, education, employment status, deprivation, or ethnicity, suggesting broad applicability.
Who we worked with
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