Short-term BMI changes associated with self-selected weight-control dietary patterns among Chinese office-based adults using a digital health platform: An exploratory real-world observational study.

Authors

Guyanan Li, Siqi Wang, Chunyan Liu, Rui Zhang, Haihua Ma, Yiwen Wang, Lixin Na

Published in

Digital health. Volume 12. Pages 20552076261484305. Epub Aug 27, 2026.

Abstract

Digital weight-management platforms increasingly provide multiple dietary strategies that users may select according to personal preference, cultural compatibility and perceived feasibility. However, real-world evidence regarding short-term weight changes associated with self-selected dietary patterns among Chinese office-based adults remains limited.
This real-world observational study used data from an online weight-management platform in China between September and October 2024. Adults aged 18-60 years with self-reported office-based employment and available baseline and follow-up weight records were included. Participants voluntarily selected one of six dietary pattern groups: 16:8 time-restricted eating, 5:2 intermittent fasting, flexitarian diet, moderate-to-high protein diet, calorie-restricted balanced diet (CRD), or Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH). Within-group BMI changes were tested using paired t-tests, and between-group BMI changes were assessed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) adjusting for age, sex, baseline BMI, and follow-up duration.
A total of 5066 participants were included (mean age 31.53± 10.69 years; 94.20% female), and the CRD (39.42%) were the most commonly selected dietary patterns, whereas the flexitarian and DASH groups were substantially smaller. The median follow-up duration was 19 days. Significant within-group reductions in BMI were observed in the 16:8 time-restricted eating (-0.46 kg/m²), moderate-to-high protein (-0.28 kg/m²), CRD (-0.30 kg/m²), and flexitarian (-1.06 kg/m²) groups. After adjustment for age, sex, baseline BMI, and follow-up duration, BMI change differed across dietary pattern groups (ANCOVA: F = 3.648, P = 0.003).
In this exploratory real-world observational study, several self-selected dietary patterns were associated with modest short-term reductions in BMI among Chinese office-based adults using a digital weight-management platform. Because dietary pattern selection was voluntary and follow-up was short, the findings should be interpreted as observational associations rather than evidence of comparative dietary effectiveness. Further studies with longer follow-up and more rigorous comparative designs are needed.

PMID:
42668811
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 30 Aug 2026.

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