{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,6]],"date-time":"2026-01-06T02:22:43Z","timestamp":1767666163698,"version":"3.41.2"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"Emerald","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,3,29]],"date-time":"2019-03-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1553817600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/site-policies"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["ITP"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2019,3,29]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n<jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Purpose<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>A question of interest is whether online social networks are effective in promoting behavioral changes and weight loss. The purpose of this paper is to examine the contagion effect of an online buddy network on individuals\u2019 self-monitoring behavior.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec>\n<jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Design\/methodology\/approach<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>This study collects data from an online weight-loss community and constructs an online buddy network. This study compares the effects of the network structure of the buddy network and the actor attributes when predicting self-monitoring performance by employing the auto-logistic actor attribute models.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec>\n<jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Findings<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>This study confirms the contagion effect on weigh-in behavior in the online buddy network. The contagion effect is significantly predictive when controlling for actor attribute and other network structure effects.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec>\n<jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Originality\/value<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>There is limited evidence that one\u2019s weight-related behavior can be affected by online social contacts. This study contributes to the literature on peer influence on health by examining the contagion effect on weight-related behavior between online buddies. The findings can assist in designing peer-based interventions to harness influence from online social contacts for weight loss.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1108\/itp-11-2018-0525","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,4,3]],"date-time":"2019-04-03T07:14:16Z","timestamp":1554275656000},"page":"22-36","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":15,"title":["Lose your weight with online buddies: behavioral contagion in an online weight-loss community"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"33","author":[{"given":"Xiaolong","family":"Song","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jiahua","family":"Jin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yi-Hung","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xiangbin","family":"Yan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"140","reference":[{"issue":"51","key":"key2020012908383249700_ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21544","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0908800106","article-title":"Distinguishing influence-based contagion from homophily-driven diffusion in dynamic networks","volume":"106","year":"2009","journal-title":"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences"},{"issue":"4","key":"key2020012908383249700_ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"723","DOI":"10.1038\/oby.2008.615","article-title":"Exploiting social networks to mitigate the obesity epidemic","volume":"17","year":"2009","journal-title":"Obesity"},{"issue":"3","key":"key2020012908383249700_ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"377","DOI":"10.1016\/S0005-7894(05)80212-6","article-title":"Self-monitoring may be necessary for successful weight control","volume":"24","year":"1993","journal-title":"Behavior Therapy"},{"issue":"6","key":"key2020012908383249700_ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"332","DOI":"10.1002\/cb.374","article-title":"Help me, I\u2019m fat! 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