Building Habits Together Online Weight Loss Program: Pilot Trial
Overview
- Phase
- N/A
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Obesity
- Sponsor
- University of Connecticut
- Enrollment
- 70
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Mobile App Use
- Status
- Completed
- Last Updated
- last year
Overview
Brief Summary
The purpose of this pilot trial is to evaluate the feasibility of a lifestyle intervention where participants will all receive online weight loss counseling delivered via a private Facebook group, but be randomized to the Habit app (developed by the investigators) or MyFitnessPal, a commercial calorie tracking app.
Detailed Description
The purpose of this pilot trial is to evaluate the feasibility of a program where 70 adults with overweight or obesity will receive online weight loss counseling delivered via a private Facebook group, but be randomized to the Habit app (developed by the investigators) or MyFitnessPal, a commercial calorie tracking app. Participants randomized to the Habit app will be asked to record their weight daily, monitor their dietary temptations, plan their exercise, and solve diet and exercise related problems. The temptation tracker helps users identify triggers and track when and why those triggers lead to dietary lapses. The exercise planner allows users to plan their exercise for the week and track whether they completed or missed the exercise and why they missed it. The Habit app provides insights to users about the patterns of their dietary lapses and exercise habits. The problem solver feature helps users identify their biggest problem with diet/exercise and then asks a series of questions to help the app provide tailored solutions to the participant to work on. Participants randomized to MyFitnessPal will track their calorie intake and exercise daily during the intervention.
Investigators
Sherry Pagoto
Professor
University of Connecticut
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •18-65 years old
- •Body mass index (BMI) 27-45 kg/m2
- •Wi-Fi connectivity at home
- •Logs into Facebook at least 5 days per week over the past 2 weeks
- •Has posted/replied on Facebook at least once a week in the past 2 weeks
- •Able to participate in the study in English
- •Interested in losing weight
Exclusion Criteria
- •Under the age of 18 and over the age of 65
- •BMI under 27 or over 45 at screening; then under 27 at the point of the first weight on scale
- •Does not have Wi-Fi connectivity at home
- •Does not have a Facebook account
- •Does not log into Facebook at least 5 days per week over the past 2 weeks
- •Did not post/reply on Facebook once a week over the past 2 weeks
- •Not able to participate in the study in English
- •Does not live in the United States
- •Not interested in losing weight
- •Pregnant/lactating or plans to become pregnant during study period
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Mobile App Use
Time Frame: 24 weeks
Investigators will calculate the number of days participants used their assigned app
Retention
Time Frame: 24 weeks
Investigators will calculate retention as the proportion of participants who provide weight data at the 24 week follow-up
Engagement Per Participant in the Facebook Group
Time Frame: 24 weeks
For each participant, investigators will calculate total engagement in the Facebook group as defined as reactions (e.g., like, care, wow, etc.), replies, posts, and poll votes during the 24-week program. Then we will calculate mean or median engagement per participant over 24 weeks.
Ease of Use (Acceptability)
Time Frame: 24 weeks
Participants will rate how easy it was to use their assigned app (% who strongly agree/agree)
Contamination
Time Frame: 24 weeks
Investigators will report the percent of participants in the Habit condition that used MyFitnessPal or other calorie tracking apps during the program.
Time Consuming (Burden)
Time Frame: 24 weeks
Participants will rate their assigned app in terms of whether they felt it took too much time out of their day (% who strongly agree/agree)
Secondary Outcomes
- Percentage of Baseline Weight Lost at 24 Weeks(24 weeks)