Families Improving Together (FIT) for Weight Loss
Condition: Overweight; Obese
MeSH terms: Overweight; Weight Loss
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The increasing rate of obesity has become a major public health concern with national reports
      indicating 40% of African American adolescents are now overweight/obese. Little is known
      about effective weight loss interventions in ethnic minority adolescents. However, research
      has shown that ethnic minorities attend fewer intervention sessions, have higher attrition
      rates and lose less weight compared to Caucasians. Two fundamental problems related to this
      lack of progress are 1) lack of appropriate content of weight loss interventions for African
      American adolescents that integrate cultural issues, parenting skills, and motivational
      strategies for long-term change and, 2) poor dose of weight loss interventions because of
      participant fatigue and drop out. While previous weight loss studies for adolescents have
      been long lasting (12-25 weeks), our team developed a weight loss program that is a
      relatively brief (8-week) face-to-face intervention that integrates motivational
      (autonomy-support) and positive parenting skills (monitoring, social support, positive
      communication skills) for reducing z-BMI in overweight African American adolescents. Our team
      recently conducted a pilot study testing the feasibility of an 8-week on-line culturally
      tailored intervention, Thus, the goal of this project is to conduct a randomized controlled
      efficacy trial to address the problems with past studies by 1) making the face-to-face group
      intervention shorter, 2) using an on-line component to compliment the group-based
      intervention for increasing dose, and by 3) tailoring a motivational and parenting skills
      program directly to parents and adolescents skill levels and cultural background. 520
      overweight African American adolescents and their parents will be recruited to participate.
      Phase I of the trial will test the efficacy of an 8-week face-to-face group randomized trial
      comparing motivational plus family-based weight loss (M+FWL) to a basic health (BH) education
      program on reducing z-BMI and improving diet and physical activity (PA) in overweight African
      American adolescents. In phase II of the trial participants will be re-randomized to either
      an 8-week on-line intervention or a control on-line program resulting in a 2 (M+FWL vs. BH
      group) x 2 (intervention vs. control on-line program) factorial design. A 6-month follow-up
      will examine whether adolescents in the 8-week M+FWL group plus 8-week on-line intervention
      program will show the greatest maintenance in reducing z-BMI.
    


Intervention name(s): Motivational and Family Weight Loss; Basic Health Education; Online Intervention; Online Control
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral; Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): This group will receive the comprehensive motivational and family weight loss intervention.; This group will receive the comprehensive basic health education intervention.; Participants will receive the online tailored weight loss intervention program after they have either received the motivational plus family weight loss program or basic health face-to-face program.; Participants will receive the online control program after they have either received the motivational plus family weight loss program or the basic health education program.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Factorial Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Motivational intervention; Positive Parenting Intervention; Obesity; Physical Activity; Diet; African American; Adolescent