Proof-of-Concept Study of an Integrated Mobile and Social Network Weight Loss Intervention

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Obesity

Interventions: Behavioral: Building Habits Together Online Weight Loss 6-Week Usability Trial

Registration Number: NCT05295849

Lead Sponsor: University of Connecticut

Brief Summary: The purpose of this 6 week single-arm pilot is to evaluate the feasibility of the Habit app plus Facebook group intervention in 20 adults with obesity. Participants will participate in a 6-week version of the intervention which involves receiving a feed based on the Diabetes Prevention Program in a private Facebook group, access to a professional weight loss counselor in the Facebook group, MyFitnessPal, and the Habit app.

Detailed Description: The purpose of this single-arm pilot is to evaluate the feasibility of the intervention in 20 adults with obesity. We define feasibility as use of the mobile app features (dietary self-monitoring, slip tracker, and problem sharing/solving), retention, engagement (overall, problem solving), acceptability, and burden. This study will give us information that we can use to modify the intervention and our procedures before the larger pilot study. We will enroll 20 adults with obesity to participate in the 6-week pilot. Eligible participants will receive a link to complete surveys, mailed a wifi scale, and asked to provide staff with login information for the scale so weight can be recorded during assessments. They will then have a 60-minute call with a counselor to 1) download and receive training on program technology (MyFitnessPal, Habit app, and Fitbit scale) and 2) be entered into the Facebook group. Participants will participate in a 6-week version of the intervention which involves receiving a feed based on the Diabetes Prevention Program in a private Facebook group, access to a professional weight loss counselor in the Facebook group, MyFitnessPal, and the Habit app. Every Monday in the group, participants will be given one diet and one exercise goal for the week and every Sunday they will be asked to share their progress on those goals. Every Friday they will participate in a "weigh in" thread in the group. In addition to the group, for the first two weeks, participants will be asked to use MyFitnessPal; for the second two weeks, they will be asked to use the Temptation/Slip Tracker and Exercise Planner; and for the final two weeks they will be asked to use the Problem Solver. We will ask each participant to share at least one diet or exercise problem with the group over the 6 weeks and to participate in each other's problem solving posts. Participants may attend optional weekly breakout sessions where weight loss related problems will be discussed. On the final day of the intervention, a post will go up in the group asking for a volunteer who used the app enough to brainstorm how to improve it to participate in a team meeting to discuss how to improve the program. If more than one participant volunteers, one will be randomly selected to participate. After the 6-week intervention, participants will complete the weight loss problem solving skills survey, provide a final weight, and complete individual phone interviews to discuss their experience. We will convene a team meeting with the investigators, interventionists, and a participant to discuss the results and any modifications that should be made to the program before progressing to the pilot study.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 20

Inclusion Criteria

18-65 years old
BMI 30-45 kg/m2
has wifi connectivity at home (for wifi scale)
logs into Facebook at least 5 days per week over the past 2 weeks, and has posted/replied at least once a week in the past 2 weeks
able to participate in the study in English.

Exclusion Criteria

Pregnant/lactating or plans to become pregnant during study period
bipolar disorder, substance abuse, psychosis, bulimia, binge eating disorder, or severe depression
had bariatric surgery or plans to have surgery during the study
currently taking medication affecting weight
has lost ≥10% of weight in past year
is participating or intends to participate in another weight loss program during the study that provides coaching or problem solving
chronic pain that interferes with the ability to exercise
Type 1 or 2 Diabetes
unable to make dietary changes or increase physical activity
unable to walk ¼ mile unaided without stopping
currently smokes or vapes nicotine
does not live in the United States
had major surgery in past 6 months
hospitalized for psychiatric reasons in past 12 months
has concerns about being audiotaped during the focus groups
does not have or not willing to create Fitbit account for study
unable to access smartphone at home and at work
does not have FB
has done a study with this PI before
has concerns about being in FB group with faculty/students of same university in which they work/attend
does not have smartphone
smartphone type/version not meeting app requirements
prisoner
unable to provide consent
does not complete onboarding steps for the study

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Habit App	Building Habits Together Online Weight Loss 6-Week Usability Trial	Habit Mobile App

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Mean Number of Uses of the Temptation Tracker	2 weeks	Participants were asked to use the temptation tracker on weeks 3 and 4 of the intervention. Uses were extracted from the app's backend server.
Mean Number of Slips Reported	2 weeks	Participants were asked to report whether a temptation led to a slip or if they resisted on weeks 3 and 4 of the intervention. Uses were extracted from the app's backend server.
Mean Number of Temptations Resisted	2 weeks	Participants were asked to report whether a temptation led to a slip or if they resisted on weeks 3 and 4 of the intervention. Uses were extracted from the app's backend server.
Mean Number of Exercises Planned	2 weeks	Participants were asked to plan their exercise in advance on weeks 3 and 4 of the intervention. Uses were extracted from the app's backend server.
Mean Number of Total Problems Solved	2 weeks	Participants were asked to use the app problem solver on weeks 5 and 6 of the intervention. Uses were extracted from the app's backend server.
Mean Number of Diet Problems Solved	2 weeks	Participants were asked to use the app problem solver on weeks 5 and 6 of the intervention. Uses were extracted from the app's backend server.
Mean Number of Exercise Problems Solved	2 weeks	Participants were asked to use the app problem solver on weeks 5 and 6 of the intervention. Uses were extracted from the app's backend server.
Number of Participants Saying They Agree or Strongly Agree They Would Continue to Use the Habit App if Given the Chance	6 weeks	Participants will rate how much they agree with the statement "I would continue to use the Habit app after the study if given the chance" on 5-point Likert scales.
Number of Participants Saying They Agree or Strongly Agree That They Would Recommend the Habit App to a Friend	6 weeks	Participants will rate how much they agree with the following statement "I would recommend the Habit app to a friend who is trying to lose weight" on a 5-point Likert scale.
Number of Participants Rating the Temptation and Slip Tracker as Time-consuming	6 weeks	Participants will rate their agreement with statements about how time-consuming participation in the program and use of each component (temptation/slip tracker, problem solver, etc) is on 5-point Likert scales. This outcome counts number of participants that Strongly Agree or Agree.
Number of Participants Rating the Problem Solver as Time-consuming	6 weeks	Participants will rate their agreement with statements about how time-consuming participation in the program and use of each component (slip tracker, problem solver, etc) is on 5-point Likert scales. This outcome counts number of participants that Strongly Agree or Agree.
Number of Participants Rating the Exercise Planner as Time-consuming	6 weeks	Participants will rate their agreement with statements about how time-consuming participation in the program and use of each component (slip tracker, problem solver, etc) is on 5-point Likert scales. This outcome counts number of participants that Strongly Agree or Agree.
Median Total Engagements in the Facebook Group	6 weeks	Using Grytics, we will retrieve objective engagement data from the Facebook group, including the date and content of all posts, replies, reactions, and poll votes. We will calculate the total number of posts, replies, reactions, and poll votes per participant.