Preventing Weight Gain Among Those Who Decline Behavioral Weight Loss Treatment (STEADY)
Condition: Overweight and Obesity
MeSH terms: Overweight; Weight Loss; Weight Gain
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The goal of this pilot trial is to pilot test an intervention to help prevent weight gain or
      produce weight loss among adults with obesity. Participants are asked to self-weigh on a
      smart scale for one year. Feasibility and acceptability outcomes are examined.
    

Detailed description: 
      To prevent weight gain while overcoming these common barriers to engaging in weight
      management interventions, we propose an intervention that prescribes self-weighing but does
      not prescribe changes in diet or physical activity behaviors or require attendance at
      didactic-focused meetings. The potential of self-weighing to promote weight management is
      supported both by self-regulatory theory and empirical research. Promoting self-weighing may
      activate participants' self-regulatory skills, leading to spontaneous decisions to reduce
      calorie intake or increase physical activity, thus preventing further weight gain. The
      proposed intervention will also provide individuals with text message-based feedback to
      promote continued self-weighing and to motivate engagement with evidence-based resources for
      weight management at a time when they may be more open to using these resources-e.g., after
      experiencing a small weight gain. The current proposal will investigate the feasibility and
      acceptability of this low burden self-weighing intervention in order to prepare for a
      fully-powered, pragmatic randomized controlled trial. We will enroll 40 patients with either
      obesity or overweight with a weight-related comorbidity and who have declined to participate
      in a comprehensive behavioral weight management program. Participants will be asked to weigh
      themselves daily via a "smart" scale that transmits weight data directly to the study team
      via the cellular network. Every-other week, participants will be sent text messages providing
      brief feedback encouraging continued self-weighing. Moreover, if a small weight gain is
      observed, participants will be sent text messages aiming to engage them in commercial or
      community-based evidence-based weight management resources. In a single-arm design, all
      enrolled participants will receive the intervention for 12 months and will complete
      assessments at 3 and 12 months to assess feasibility and acceptability of the intervention
      and trial design, while weight will be obtained from participants' Electronic Health Records
      (EHR). We will evaluate our success in meeting pre-specified metrics for trial feasibility
      and intervention acceptability outcomes, including intervention enrollment, intervention
      satisfaction, and obtainment of weight data abstracted from participants' EHRs. We will also
      evaluate the success of the intervention in promoting regular self-weighing and use of
      evidence-based weight management resources.
    

Intervention name(s): Steady Intervention
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Participants will be asked to weigh themselves daily via a "smart" scale that transmits weight data directly to the study team via the cellular network for 12 months. Every-other week, participants will be sent text messages providing brief feedback encouraging continued self-weighing. Moreover, if a small weight gain is observed, participants will be sent text messages aiming to engage them in commercial or community-based evidence-based weight management resources.
Intervention model: Single Group Assignment
Intervention model description: Single-arm trial
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Other