Physical Activity Choices Everyday

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Obesity

Interventions: Behavioral: Weight Loss Maintenance + Healthy Thinking
Behavioral: Weight Loss Maintenance Treatment + Future Thinking

Registration Number: NCT03824769

Lead Sponsor: University of Connecticut

Brief Summary: This study aims to test two strategies for weight loss maintenance. It involves two phases, a weight loss phase and a maintenance phase. During Phase I (the weight loss phase), participants will receive a 16-week, Web-based behavioral weight loss program that involves access to weekly weight loss information and weekly personalized feedback on diet, activity, and weight loss goals. Individuals who lose at least 5% of their initial body weight during this program, will be invited to participate in Phase II. During Phase II, two 4-month treatments for weight loss maintenance will be tested. At the beginning of Phase II, participants will be randomly assigned to one of the two maintenance programs: (1) a behavioral maintenance program that involves in-person group meetings plus daily exercises in which information about a healthy lifestyle is reviewed or (2) a behavioral maintenance program that involves in-person group meetings plus daily exercises in which descriptions of positive future events are reviewed. Throughout the study, participants will complete assessments that examine the effects of the interventions on delay discounting, physical activity, weight, and other important health and psychosocial outcomes.

Detailed Description: Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 160

Inclusion Criteria

Age between 18-70
Body Mass Index between 30-50
English Speaking
Have a smartphone that can be used for study activities

Exclusion Criteria

Report being unable to walk 2 blocks without stopping
Are currently participating in weight loss treatment, have a history of bariatric surgery, or lost ≥5% in the past 6-months
Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant within 1 year
Report a heart condition, chest pain during periods of rest or activity, or loss of consciousness on the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire
Report a medical condition that could jeopardize their safety in a weight control program with diet and exercise guidelines
History of or current traumatic brain injury, dementia or Alzheimer's disease; a history of Multiple Sclerosis, or other neurological disorders
Report conditions that, in the judgment of the PI, would render them unlikely to follow the protocol (e.g., relocation, dementia, unable to read and write in English)
Have no Internet access or unwilling to use personal smartphone for study.

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Behavioral Weight Loss Maintenance + Healthy Thinking	Weight Loss Maintenance + Healthy Thinking	Contingent upon participants losing 5% of body weight or more in Phase I (weight loss) of this trial, participants will receive a 4-month behavioral weight maintenance intervention consisting of 7 sessions that focus on evidence-based weight management strategies focused on diet, exercise, and behavioral skills. In this treatment, participants will be asked to read short passages related to nutrition and a healthy lifestyle through our study website twice a day for the duration of treatment.
Behavioral Weight Loss Maintenance Treatment + Future Thinking	Weight Loss Maintenance Treatment + Future Thinking	Contingent upon participants losing 5% of body weight or more in Phase I (weight loss) of this trial, participants will receive a 4-month behavioral weight maintenance intervention consisting of 7 sessions that focus on evidence-based weight management strategies focused on diet, exercise, and behavioral skills. In this treatment, participants will create descriptions of upcoming positive events and will be asked to read short passages through our study website at least twice a day for the duration of treatment.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Weekly Moderate-Vigorous Physical Activity Minutes, Accelerometry	Phase II baseline to 1 month, 2 months and 4 months (end of treatment)	Change in weekly minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity measured via a waist worn accelerometer during the Phase II maintenance program. At each assessment time point, participants were instructed to wear the accelerometer on their right waist during all waking hours for 7 days. Participants with a minimum of 600 min of valid daily wear time for at least 4 days were included in reported outcomes.
Delay Discounting (Monetary Choice Questionnaire)	Phase II baseline to 2 months and 4 months (end of treatment)	Change in delay discounting measured using the Monetary Choice Questionnaire (MCQ) task during the Phase II maintenance program. Delay discounting refers to the decline in the present value of a reward with delay to its receipt. The MCQ identifies an individual's discount rate, which reflects how much they devalue future rewards. In the task, each question asks participants to make a choice between a smaller, immediate (hypothetical) monetary reward and a larger, delayed (hypothetical) reward. Unlike the Adjusting Amount task, each MCQ question includes different combinations of delay periods and reward amounts that are not influenced by previous responses (i.e., delay periods and reward amounts are static and the same for each participant). The discount rate is represented by "k". A higher "k" value means a steeper discount rate, indicating a greater preference for immediate rewards and a higher devaluation of future rewards.
Delay Discounting (Adjusting Amount Task)	Phase II baseline to 1 month, 2 months and 4 months (end of treatment)	Change in delay discounting measured using the Adjusting Amount task during the Phase II maintenance program. Delay discounting refers to the decline in the present value of a reward with delay to its receipt. The Adjusting Amount task identifies an individual's discount rate, which reflects how much they devalue future rewards. In the task, participants are presented with a choice between a smaller, immediate (hypothetical) monetary reward and a larger, delayed (hypothetical) monetary reward. Then, using a titration procedure, the delayed reward amount is adjusted based on the participant's choices to find the point at which they are indifferent between the two options (i.e., discounting rate). The discount rate is represented by "k". A higher "k" value means a steeper discount rate, indicating a greater preference for immediate rewards and a higher devaluation of future rewards.