Health Behavior
Conditions
Keywords
Weight Loss, Health Status Disparities
Brief summary
Overweight/obesity is strongly linked to mortality from multiple chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity-related cancers.The successful management of overweight/obesity requires management of nutrition and physical activity over time. For racial/ethnic minority and low-income populations, who face both higher prevalence of obesity and chronic diseases compared to others, interventions promoting behavioral change are a national health priority. From the available range of behavioral change intervention strategies, there is a growing knowledge base that documents the efficacy of peer support interventions for improving self-care, quality of life, and behavioral change. In this study, the investigators will examine the following research question: What is the preliminary efficacy and degree of implementation and acceptability of an intervention approach in which peer counselors provide evidenced-based counseling about nutrition and physical activity behaviors for weight management to public housing residents using a computer-assisted program called CuesWeight?
Interventions
BEHAVIORALCounseling
Up to 12 sessions of behavioral counseling using motivational interviewing techniques focused on diet and physical activity behaviors over a 12 week period. Counselors will be guided in their sessions by a computer program called CuesWeight. Participants also receive text messages to enable participants to track their behaviors; this information is relayed to the counselors to inform the counseling sessions.
BEHAVIORALfeedback report
All participants receive a brief printed feedback report displaying their current levels of nutrition and physical activity behaviors and tips for meeting recommended guidelines.
Sponsors
American Heart Association
Boston Medical Center
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Willing to wear an accelerometer * 18-65 years old * Public housing resident with no plans to move in next 6 months * Body mass index ≥25 * Open to making changes to diet & physical activity habits
Exclusion criteria
* Currently enrolled in a comprehensive weight loss program or a research study whose primary outcome is weight loss * Primary language spoken is a language other than Spanish or English * Not willing to participate in study protocols, including wearing the accelerometer, not willing to have study staff send text messages
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Weight-objective measurement | 12 weeks | Weight in pounds will be measured objectively with a digital scale |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Diet, fruits and vegetables, self-reported via questionnaire | 12 weeks | Servings of fruits and vegetables will be measured via the Primescreen dietary screener instrument |
| Diet, sugar sweetened beverages, self-reported via questionnaire | 12 weeks | Fluid ounces of sugar sweetened beverages will be measured via the BEV-Q questionnaire |
| Diet, fast food, self-reported via questionnaire | 12 weeks | Number of visits to fast food restaurants will be measured via a 1-item question asking participants how often they go to fast food restaurants |
| Physical activity, objectively measured | 12 weeks | Minutes of light to moderate physical activity will be measured via accelerometers (Actigraphs) |
| Internal motivation, self-reported via questionnaire | 12 weeks | Perceptions of internal motivation to change diet and physical activity will be measured by a brief questionnaire |
| Physical activity, self-reported | 12 weeks | Minutes of light to moderate physical activity will be measured via a questionnaire (IPAQ) |
| Self-efficacy for doing physical activity, self-reported via questionnaire | 12 weeks | Perceptions of self-efficacy (or confidence) to change physical activity behaviors in a variety of situations will be measured by a brief questionnaire |
| Social support, self-reported via questionnaire | 12 weeks | Perceptions of social support from a variety of sources will be measured via a brief questionnaire |
| Feasibility, number of counseling sessions completed | 12 weeks | Number of counseling sessions completed in-person and over the phone will be tallied and reported |
| Feasibility, acceptability of intervention | 12 weeks | Perceptions of acceptability of both the brief feedback report and the counseling sessions will be asked in open- and closed-ended questions |
| Self-efficacy for eating a healthful diet, self-reported via questionnaire | 12 weeks | Perceptions of self-efficacy (or confidence) to change diet behaviors in a variety of situations will be measured by a brief questionnaire |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed