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Using Bite Counter for Weight Loss: A One-month Usability Trial to Test the Effectiveness of Using the Bite Counter

Using Bite Counter for Weight Loss: A One-month Usability Trial to Test the Effectiveness of Using a Wearable Bite Counter to Assist With Dietary Self-monitoring

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT02494674
Acronym
Bites
Enrollment
12
Registered
2015-07-10
Start date
2015-07-31
Completion date
2015-11-30
Last updated
2019-04-18

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Obesity

Brief summary

This is a 1-month study that will examine the use of podcasting and a wearable wrist-worn device to track calorie intake and promote weight loss. A podcast is a digital audio file that can be listened to on portable media players, like iPods, and personal computers. This study will run from July 14, 2015 to August 11, 2015. In this study, you will receive weight loss information delivered via twice weekly podcasts. You will also track each meal you eat by wearing a provided watch-like device.

Detailed description

This study will last approximately 1 month (about 4 weeks). Participants will need to attend one 1.5-hour orientation meeting, baseline assessment, and training meeting, and then weekly 1-hour meetings for four weeks (5 meetings total). Participants will listen to 2 podcasts per week and will be encouraged to monitor exercise and body weight and track each meal using the provided wearable, wrist worn device. Each of the podcasts will take about 15 - 20 minutes to listen to and so participants should expect to spend 30 - 40 minutes each week listening to podcasts and up to 3 hours completing other study-related activities each week-including attending the weekly meetings-for a total of about 4 hours per week.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALBite Counter tracking

Participants will be asked to use the bite counter to track all meals and provide feedback on using the bite counter for dietary self-monitoring.

Sponsors

University of South Carolina
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* 18-65 years of age * BMI between 25- 49.9 kg/m2 * live in Columbia, South Carolina area * be able to attend all assessment visits * have access to the Internet, a computer, and a smartphone (iPhone, Android, etc.) * have MD consent for participation if currently on blood pressure medications, have issues with dizziness, or have bone or joint issues * be free of an eating disorder as screened by the Eating disorder Screen for Primary care. (If a participant has an eating disorder, they will be referred to their family physician) * no current participation in a weight loss program or taking weight loss medications (although participants may be trying to lose weight on their own) * able to prepare all their own meals (i.e. not living on-campus)

Exclusion criteria

* major health or psychiatric diseases, drug or alcohol dependency, thyroid conditions, or pregnancy * pregnant (or have been pregnant in the last 6 months), anticipating on becoming pregnant in the next 7 months, or currently breastfeeding o Women who are pregnant should not be pursuing weight loss and should be under the direct care of a physician. Therefore women who are pregnant or who are anticipating they might be pregnant should not participate in this study. If a woman becomes pregnant during the study, she will be advised to consult her care provider and will be dropped from the weight loss study.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Body Weight (kg)4 weeksAssessed with a digital scale accurate to 0.1 kg

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Energy intake (kilocalories)4 weeksAssessed via 2 unannounced 24-hour dietary recalls

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026