Phone Coaching for Weight Loss Maintenance

Not Applicable

Completed

Brief Summary: The purpose of this study was to examine whether 4 consecutive weeks of phone coaching aids in recovery from weight regain during weight loss maintenance. Individuals who previously achieved and maintained a \>=5% weight loss in a 1-year behavioral weight loss program were provided with a low-intensity maintenance intervention (monthly newsletters and smart scale). At baseline, participants were randomized to the coaching group or the control group (no coaching). If participants regained \>1.5% of their weight, randomization was "triggered." At this point, participants randomized to the coaching condition received 4 brief weekly coaching calls; participants randomized to the control condition received no additional intervention contact. Short-term and long-term weight change was assessed and compared between treatment groups.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Exclusion Criteria

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Maintenance program only	Maintenance program	All participants are provided with a monthly newsletter which contains useful strategies for maintaining weight loss long-term. Participants are also encouraged to weigh themselves daily using a smart scale, which electronically transmits weight data to the research staff. No participants in this condition will receive phone coaching.
Maintenance program+possibility of phone coaching	Maintenance program	All participants are provided with a monthly newsletter which contains useful strategies for maintaining weight loss long-term. Participants are also encouraged to weigh themselves daily using a smart scale, which electronically transmits weight data to the research staff. Some participants randomized to this condition will also receive 4 consecutive weeks of phone coaching at some point over the 1-year intervention period (this is determined by a weight-based algorithm).
Maintenance program+possibility of phone coaching	Phone coaching	All participants are provided with a monthly newsletter which contains useful strategies for maintaining weight loss long-term. Participants are also encouraged to weigh themselves daily using a smart scale, which electronically transmits weight data to the research staff. Some participants randomized to this condition will also receive 4 consecutive weeks of phone coaching at some point over the 1-year intervention period (this is determined by a weight-based algorithm).

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Percent Change in Body Weight From Baseline to Month 12	Baseline and Month 12

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Percent Weight Change Over the Coaching Period	Trigger date and 40 days post-trigger date	The 'coaching period' weight change was calculated by subtracting the 'trigger date' weight (i.e., the weight measurement from the smart scale on the day the participant achieved the trigger threshold, which was defined as the final day in a series of 4 days \>1.5% or the final day in which the previous 7 days averaged \>1.5%) from the smart scale weight 40 days following the 'trigger date'. Percent weight change was then calculated by taking the 'coaching period weight change' and dividing it by the 'trigger date weight' and multiplying by 100. Therefore, a negative number indicates weight loss and a positive number indicates weight gain over the 40-day coaching period.