Clinical trial NCT02985307: Impact of Mobile Phone Texting Service to Support Weight Loss
Official title: Efficacy of Mobile Telehealth Short Message Service (SMS) as a Facilitator for Weight Management: A Randomised Controlled Trial
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: UNKNOWN
Phase: NA
Conditions: Obesity
Lead sponsor: NHS Lothian
Sponsor class: OTHER_GOV
Collaborators: name: Queen Margaret University
First posted: 2016-12-07
Enrollment: 120
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Brief summary: This study evaluates the efficacy of a mobile telehealth short message service as a facilitator for weight management. Half of the participants will receive a standard care weight management group intervention, while the other half will receive daily text messages via their mobile phone to help facilitate weight loss. It is hypothesized that the intervention group receiving text messages will be as successful as the control group at achieving weight loss over a 3-month period.

Detailed description: Obesity, a chronic progressive disease, has become a major public health concern due to its increasing prevalence and association with many adverse health conditions including type 2 diabetes, many cancers and heart disease. The number of individuals requiring weight management intervention is increasing necessitating the need to explore other initiatives.

Developments in health technology are growing in popularity and there is increasing evidence that this type of intervention for obesity can significantly improve clinical outcomes. Mobile phones are a popular means of communication that provide a convenient, inexpensive means to deliver a health technology intervention.Short message service (SMS) by mobile phone has the potential to serve as an intervention medium to promote weight loss that is accessible and easy to use.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Body mass index \> 35kg/m requiring to lose weight for an operation or having a co-morbidity including diabetes, osteoarthritis, high cholesterol, asthma, heart disease, high blood pressure or sleep apnoea or with a body mass \>40kg/m with no co-morbidities.
* Own a mobile phone
* Have the ability to use short message service
* Have access to weighing scales
* Mentally capable of informed consent
* Have the ability to read and speak English

Exclusion Criteria:

* Uncontrolled Hypothyroidism
* Poorly controlled psychiatric illness
* Current alcohol or drug abuse
* Learning disability
* Do not own a mobile phone
* Do not have access to weighing scales
* Does not have the ability to read or speak English

Primary outcomes:
measure: Weight Loss
timeFrame: 3 months
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Behavioural changes necessary for weight loss
timeFrame: 3 months
measure: Body fat changes
timeFrame: 3 months
measure: Body Mass index
timeFrame: 3 months
measure: Height
timeFrame: 3months
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Edinburgh
country: United Kingdom
facility: Elizabeth McAnally
state: West Lothian
city: Edinburgh
country: United Kingdom
facility: NHS Lothian
state: West Lothian
Study officials:
affiliation: Queen Margaret University
name: Douglas McBean, PhD
role: STUDY_DIRECTOR
References:
citation: Patrick K, Raab F, Adams MA, Dillon L, Zabinski M, Rock CL, Griswold WG, Norman GJ. A text message-based intervention for weight loss: randomized controlled trial. J Med Internet Res. 2009 Jan 13;11(1):e1. doi: 10.2196/jmir.1100.