A Mobile Health and Wellness Coaching Intervention for Weight Loss

Summary

The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a 6-month text-based mobile health and wellness (mHWC) intervention, as compared to usual care (UC), for weight loss in adults. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the two groups (mHWC or UC). At the beginning of the study, both groups were given a Fitbit wearable device, and a weight scale. All participants also received a counseling session from a dietician focused on diet, physical activity, and sleep, and were set up on the Nudge app, a commercially-available mHWC platform. Participants in the mHWC group received text-based coaching messages via Nudge and did not return to the clinic for the duration of the 6-month intervention. Those in the UC group met once a month with a pharmacist or dietician for 6 months. In both groups, the focus was on facilitating health behavior change related to diet, physical activity, and sleep to promote weight loss.

We hypothesized that weight loss at 6 months would be greater in the mHWC group vs. the UC group.

Conditions

• Overweight and Obesity
• Health Behavior

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

mobile Health and Wellness Coaching

Participants in the mobile health and wellness coaching (mHWC) group received text-based mHWC messages and did not return to the clinic until the end of the 6 month intervention. Messages were sent at least weekly and focused on facilitating the adoption and maintenance of health behaviors related to diet, physical activity and sleep to promote weight loss. Participants could respond via text at any time. The Nudge platform was used for all messaging.

BEHAVIORAL

Usual Care

Participants in the usual care (UC) group met in-person once a month with either a pharmacist or dietician for the duration of the 6-month intervention. The focus of these sessions was on facilitating the adoption and maintenance of health behaviors related to diet, physical activity and sleep to promote weight loss. These participants were set up on the Nudge app, but they did not use the mHWC (texting) feature.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Auburn University

  collaborator OTHER

• Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Joshua C Hollingsworth, PharmD, PhD · VCOM-Auburn

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

19 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2017-08-14

Primary Completion

2018-05-07

Completion

2018-12-06

Countries

• United States

Study Locations