Telehealth for Weight Maintenance of African-American Women ("Exercise Your Faith")
Condition: Overweight; Obesity
MeSH terms: Overweight
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Obesity can cause many health problems, including high blood pressure, diabetes, heart
      disease, and stroke. Although some people may lose weight through diet and exercise, many
      regain weight over time. There is a need to study new ways of helping people maintain their
      weight. The purpose of this research is to study the effect of a weight maintenance program
      provided through home television sets connected to the Internet.
    

Detailed description: 
      Rates of obesity in the United States have increased dramatically over the past four decades.
      Although research studies have demonstrated that weight loss is achievable through lifestyle
      modifications, the maintenance of weight reduction beyond six months remains a challenge.

      This study will examine the feasibility of a telehealth program for weight maintenance.
      Telehealth is the delivery of health related services to promote healthy behaviors through
      the innovative use of technology, without the need for travel. The telehealth program will be
      accessible at home through Internet-enabled television sets. The telehealth program includes
      three components: (1) weekly video programs that discuss problem solving and relapse
      prevention strategies and include motivational stories; (2) regularly updated video exercise
      programs; and (3) online communication with other study participants and an exercise and
      nutrition specialist.

      A randomized controlled trial will determine the feasibility and acceptability of the weight
      maintenance telehealth program. The study participants will be African-American women, as
      they have a higher prevalence of obesity with a disproportionate risk of related chronic
      diseases (e.g., diabetes). Two churches will collaborate with the University of Illinois at
      Chicago and assist in meeting the social, spiritual, and cultural needs of the participants.
      One hundred women will be recruited to participate in a one-year trial. The study includes a
      weight loss phase (Phase 1), and a weight maintenance phase (Phase 2). During Phase 1, all
      participants will attend a 12-week weight loss program held in the participating churches.
      Following completion of this program, one church will be assigned to be the intervention
      group, and the other church will be the comparison group. During Phase 2, participants in the
      intervention group will receive monthly telephone counseling plus access to the telehealth
      program, while the comparison group will only receive monthly telephone counseling. The
      specific aims of the study include: (1) to evaluate the effect of the telehealth program on
      change in body mass index; and (2) to evaluate the effect of the telehealth program on
      physical activity and fat, fiber, fruit and vegetable intake.
    

Intervention name(s): Weight Loss Church Program; Telephone Counseling; Telehealth Support
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): An initial 12-week weight loss program held in churches to ensure adequate participation, competence in performing exercises, and development of social relationships among participants. All participants attend the church programs prior to the weight maintenance phase.; Following completion of the weight loss program, participants will receive monthly telephone counseling.; After the weight loss program, women will access the home weight maintenance telehealth program through Internet enabled digital video recorders connected to their television sets. The telehealth program includes three components: (1) Weekly Video: home access to weekly video programs including problem solving and relapse prevention strategies, as well as motivational stories; (2) Teleexercise: home access to updated video exercise programs; and (3) Electronic Communication: social support through online communication with other participants, and with an exercise and nutrition interventionist.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Obesity; Body Weight Changes; Internet