Response to: self-directed interventions to promote weight loss: a systematic review of reviews

In the February issue of the Journal of Medical Internet Research, Tang et al reported a systematic review of reviews examining the effectiveness of self-directed interventions to promote weight loss. They reviewed 20 systematic reviews which incorporated 99 primary studies relevant to their review question. They concluded that self-directed interventions promote weight loss both independently and when provided as an adjunct to personal contact interventions. We agree that the evidence presented in this systematic review of reviews provides some support for the use of self-directed interventions for weight loss; however we believe the data provided does not specifically support the use of self-directed interventions alone and when used in combination with other delivery modes. We wish to point out that this is because the majority of reviews included do not have inclusion criteria or present results in a way that considers whether the intervention was delivered solely in a self-directed format or in combination with other delivery modes (eg, face-to-face).