Single Arm Trial of a Multi-component Commercial Digital Weight Loss Program

Percent of participants who agree or strongly agree that the program made them feel healthier.

Time frame: 6 months

Number of days participants used the physical activity feature in the WW app during the intervention. A day of use will be defined as any day in which any physical activity was logged. Total days possible = 168 days.

Time frame: 6 months

Number of weekly check ins completed by participants during the program. During the 6-month intervention, there were 24 opportunities for weekly check ins. Higher numbers mean more weekly check ins were completed.

Time frame: 6 months

Number of weekly workshops attended by participants during the program. During the 6-month intervention, there were a total of 24 weekly workshops.

Time frame: 6 months

All posts, comments, and reactions made in the Facebook group were captured using Grytics for Facebook each of the 24 weeks of the intervention. Participants were considered engaged with the intervention by making at least one post, one comment, and/or one reaction (e.g., like) during the intervention week. Values could range from 0 to 24 weeks with higher numbers indicating more frequent engagement in the intervention.

Time frame: 6 months

Weight was measured using a smart scale at baseline and at the three month assessment.

Time frame: Baseline to 3-months

Percent of days participants used the diet tracking feature in the WW app during the intervention to track their daily food intake. A day of use will be defined as a day where participants tracked any food item in the WW app.

Time frame: 6 months

Weight is assessed via digital scales provided to participants. Percent weight change will be calculated by subtracting 6 month weight in pounds from baseline weight in pounds, dividing by baseline weight in pounds, and then multiplying this number by 100. Lower values indicated greater weight loss.

Time frame: 6 months

Weight will be assessed via digital scales provided to participants. Weight change will be calculated by subtracting weight in pounds at 3 months from baseline weight. Lower values indicate greater weight loss in pounds.

Time frame: 3 months

Weight will be measured using a smart scale at all assessments. Weight change will be calculated as weight at 6 months in pounds minus baseline weight in pounds. Lower values mean more weight loss.

Time frame: Baseline to 6-months

At baseline and 6 months, participants completed the National Health Interview Survey Five-Factor Screener, which contains 19 items that assess the consumption frequency (measured on a scale ranging from 0=never to 5=≥5 times per day) of different food groups, including fruit intake. 1 assessed fruit intake. Change in fruit intake score was calculated by subtracting 6 month values from baseline values. Higher change scores indicate greater increases in fruit intake.

Time frame: Baseline to 6-months

Changes in physical activity will be measured from baseline to 6-months using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ). The GPAQ has questions assessing activity at work, travel to and from places, and recreational activities. The number of minutes spent on each activity is assigned a METs value to determine level of energy expenditure. The higher the METs value the higher the activity level.

Time frame: Baseline to 6-months

At baseline and 6 months, participants completed the National Health Interview Survey Five-Factor Screener, which contains 19 items that assess the consumption frequency (measured on a scale ranging from 0=never to 5=≥5 times per day) of different food groups, including fruits and vegetables. 1 assessed salad intake. Change in salad intake score was calculated by subtracting 6 month values from baseline values. Higher change scores indicate greater increases in salad intake.

Time frame: baseline and 6 months

At baseline and 6 months, participants completed the National Health Interview Survey Five-Factor Screener, which contains 19 items that assess the consumption frequency (measured on a scale ranging from 0=never to 5=≥5 times per day) of different food groups, including fruits and vegetables. 1 assessed vegetable intake. Change in vegetable intake score was calculated by subtracting 6 month values from baseline values. Higher change scores indicate greater increases in vegetable intake.

Time frame: baseline to 6 months

Changes in well-being will be measured using the WHO-5 Well Being Index (0-100 score where higher scores mean greater well-being). Change in well-being was then calculated by subtracting the 6 month score from the baseline score. Higher values indicate increases in well-being over time.

Time frame: Baseline to 6-months

Changes in food cravings will be measured from baseline to 6-months using the Food Craving Inventory. This inventory includes 28 foods that are scored based on level of craving ranging in answers from 1 (Never) to 5 (Always) for each. A mean is calculated across the 28 items. Scores then would range from a minimum of 1 to a maximum of 5. Higher scores indicate more frequent cravings. Change was calculated by subtracting 6 month scores from baseline scores. Higher scores indicate greater increases in food cravings.

Time frame: Baseline to 6-months

Changes in hunger will be measured from baseline to 6-months using the Hunger VAS (Visual Analogue Scale). This one-question measure asks How hungry did you feel over the past week and is composed of a slider with words anchored at each end describing the extremes (Not at all hungry, Extremely hungry). Participants rated their hunger over the past week using a slider on a visual analog scale ranging from 0=not at all hungry to 100=extremely hungry. Change in hunger was then calculated by subtracting the hunger score at 6 months from the hunger score at baseline. Higher values indicate increases in hunger over time and lower values indicate decreases in hunger over time.

Time frame: Baseline to 6-months

Changes in behavioral automaticity will be measured using the Self-Report Behavioral Automaticity Index (SRBAI). This 4-item measure assesses whether Behavior X is something... I do automatically, I do without having to consciously remember, I do without thinking, and I start doing before I realize I'm doing it. Items are scored using a 7-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. A mean score was calculated for each behavior. Then, mean scores were calculated for the 7 healthy behaviors to produce a positive behavioral automaticity score which could range from 1 to 7. Change in positive behavioral automaticity was then calculated by subtracting the 6 month value from the baseline value. Higher scores indicate greater behavioral automaticity for healthy behaviors.

Time frame: Baseline to 6-months

Changes in weight related quality of life will be measured from baseline to 6-months using the Impact of Weight on Quality of Life-Lite. This is a 31-item measure assessing physical function (11 items), self-esteem (7 items), sexual life (4 items), public distress (5 items), and work (4 items). Scores range from 0-100, with 100 representing the best quality of life. Change was calculated by subtracting 6 month scores from baseline scores. Higher values indicate greater increases in quality of life.

Time frame: Baseline to 6-months

Changes in self-compassion will be measured using the Self-Compassion Scale. This is a 26-item measure of self-compassion that consists of six subscales: self-kindness, self-judgement, common humanity, isolation, mindfulness, and over-identified. Items were rated a scale ranging from 1=almost never to 5=almost always. Subscales are computed by calculating the mean of subscale item responses. A total self-compassion score can be obtained by reverse scoring the negative subscale items (self-judgement, isolation, and over-identification) and computing a grand mean of all six subscale means. The total possible scores range from 1-5. Then to calculate change in self-compassion, we subtracted the 6 month value from the baseline value. Higher scores mean greater increases in self-compassion over time.

Time frame: Baseline to 6-months

Changes in sleep quality will be measured from baseline to 6-months using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. This measure contains 10 items to assess sleep quality with a score possible score of 0 - 21. Lower scores represent better the sleep quality (\< 5 is associated with good sleep quality; \> 5 is associated with poor sleep quality. Change in sleep quality was calculated by subtracting 6 month scores from baseline scores. Lower values indicate improvements in sleep quality.

Time frame: Baseline to 6-months