Obesity, Weight Gain, Women's Health
Conditions
Keywords
Facebook, Weight Gain Prevention, Women's Health, Online, Weight Gain, Weight Loss, Female Contraception, Obesity, Body Weight, Internet
Brief summary
The purpose of this research study is to evaluate the effect of a Facebook-delivered weight-gain prevention program versus a Facebook-delivered program with general women's health information.
Detailed description
Weight gain is an important health concern, and disparities in the prevalence of obesity between African American and White women increase throughout the reproductive period. This study is a randomized, controlled trial testing the feasibility and acceptability of a peer-coach-administered, Facebook-delivered intervention to prevent weight gain in overweight and obese African American women. Study visits lasting approximately 1 hour will occur at baseline, post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up, to assess effectiveness and acceptability. The core intervention will occur over a 4-week period. Educational content in both the weight-gain prevention program and women's health program will be delivered via Facebook, with new content posted each weekday related to that week's topics. The peer coaches may contact participants via private messaging, when needed, to provide support and encourage engagement. If successful, this intervention could be easily disseminated to populations in under-served and community settings.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALWeight-gain Prevention
A 4-week weight-gain prevention curriculum will be delivered via Facebook. Participants will be provided tips to prevent weight-gain and will be given the opportunity to engage with the peer coaches and other participants in the group.
BEHAVIORALWomen's Health
A 4-week women's health curriculum will be delivered via Facebook. Participants will be provided tips for staying healthy and will be given the opportunity to engage with the peer coaches and other participants in the group.
Sponsors
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
University of Missouri, Kansas City
University of Massachusetts, Worcester
Washington University School of Medicine
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to 35 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* African American * Has Facebook account and uses it, on average, at least once a day * Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25-45 * Has access to the internet * Able to consent in English
Exclusion criteria
* Currently pregnant or breastfeeding, recently postpartum (within 6 weeks) * Diagnosis of Diabetes Mellitus * History of contraindicated medical conditions or conditions that can affect weight * Current use of certain medications
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Program satisfaction, as measured by the OWN Program Satisfaction Survey | 9 weeks, beginning with start of cohort |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed