None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Despite concerted efforts at local, state and national levels to arrest increasing rates of obesity, young adults have largely been neglected. Our published research has shown young adults are more likely to face an obese future than their parents - potentially leading to an increased risk of chronic illness for the individual and increased health care costs to the nation. An important opportunity to prevent further increases in obesity prevalence is to reduce weight gain in young adults. We have identified four key behaviours to improve diet quality and promote energy balance in young adults: reduce consumption of energy-dense take-away foods; increase fruit and vegetables; increase physical activity and decrease sedentary time; and reduce sugar sweetened drinks. We know that young adults are difficult to reach with health messages which is partly due the lack of a clear setting for intervention with this group. Our focus group research and others have found that young adults prefer electronic dissemination including SMS messages, email, smartphone applications, websites and chat forums. Mobile phones are the most common medium for young adults to use to communicate with friends and family. Published studies assessing SMS for changing health behaviors have indicated their success in the short term for smoking cessation, increasing physical activity and weight loss. The primary aim of this study is to compare changes in weight and discrete nutrition, physical activity and sedentary behaviours in a population of young adults after receiving a nine-month mobile phone delivered intervention with changes in a control group. We hypothesize that our tailored intervention, including educational and motivational messages to improve lifestyle and attain/maintain a healthy weight, delivered using SMS, email, smartphone applications and a custom-designed website, will be more effective in improving young adults’ diets and physical activity, to manage their weight over nine months when compared with controls.
Interventions
Intervention participants receive:
1. A mailed eighteen-page booklet ("Guide to Healthy Eating and Activity to Achieve and Maintain a Healthy Weight") containing the two-page control handout, as well as sample meal plans, recommendations for daily servings from the core food groups with example serving sizes, and information about the four target behaviours addressed by the program: physical activity and sedentary behaviour, as well as intake of fruit and vegetables, energy-dense take-away meals
Intervention participants receive: 1. A mailed eighteen-page booklet ("Guide to Healthy Eating and Activity to Achieve and Maintain a Healthy Weight") containing the two-page control handout, as well as sample meal plans, recommendations for daily servings from the core food groups with example serving sizes, and information about the four target behaviours addressed by the program: physical activity and sedentary behaviour, as well as intake of fruit and vegetables, energy-dense take-away meals, and sugar-sweetened drinks. 2. Handouts (print and electronic format) ‘Easy, Healthy Eating on a Budget’, ‘Emergency Meal Tool Kit’, ‘Meal Planning Worksheet’, ‘COMMIT YOURSELF: Physical Activity Planner’, ‘Seasonal Guide to Vegetables and Fruits’, ‘Tips for Take-Away’ and ‘Staying Healthy over the Holidays’; 2. Smartphone applications (one each for physical activity, intake of fruit and vegetables, takeaways, and sugar sweetened drinks); 3. Online weight tracking application; 4. Online community forum; 5. SMS text messages: 8/week for first 12 weeks, followed by 1/month (tailored to the processes-of-change outlined in the Transtheoretical model for health behaviour change); 6. Email messages: 1/week for first 12 weeks, followed by 1/month (provide reminders to access materials available from the website); 7. Phone coaching calls: weeks 0, 2, 5, 8, and 11, followed by booster coaching calls at 5 and 8 months (coaching calls are based on motivational counselling principles). Through these various materials participants in the intervention are consistently encouraged to (1) consume five servings of vegetables and two servings of fruit per day, in line with the national dietary recommendations; (2) limit energy-dense take-away meals to once per week or less; (3) limit sugar-sweetened drinks to less than one litre per week; (4) perform 60 minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity most days of the week (preferably daily). Total duration of the intervention is 9 months (36 weeks). A website acts as the platform for delivering electronic handouts, downloading Smartphone applications, and using the weight tracking application and community blog.
Sponsors
The University of Sydney
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 35 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Aged 18 to 35 years. Body mass index 25.0 to 31.9 kg/m2 or 23.0 to 24.9 kg/m2 with reported weight gain > 2 kg over past 12 months. Fruit intake < two serves/day and/or vegetable intake < five serves/day and/or sugar sweetened beverage intake >= 1 L/week and/or energy-dense take-away meals > once/week and/or moderate intensity physical activity < 60 minutes/day. Has mobile phone capable of receiving text messages and access to the Internet at least once a week.
Exclusion criteria
Pregnant or planning to fall pregnant within the next nine months. Enrolled in an alternate weight loss program. Has lost > 10 kg voluntarily in the past three months. Taking medications that have caused > 2 kg weight gain. Medical condition that precludes following dietary or physical recommendations. History of disordered eating. Does not speak English.
Outcome results
None listed