Obesity
Conditions
Keywords
Sexual minority women, LGBTQ health, Weight loss
Brief summary
Obesity disproportionately impacts sexual minority women. Behavioral weight loss programs are the gold standard treatment for mild to moderate obesity. The investigators have developed an online behavioral weight loss program that is effective, low-cost, and highly scalable. However, existing research suggests that tailoring treatment to address 3 well-established weight loss barriers in sexual minority women will be critical for maximizing the relevance and efficacy of behavioral weight loss for this group. The goal of the first phase of this K23 is to develop 3 novel treatment components targeting sexual minority women's weight loss barriers (i.e., minority stress, low social support, and negative body image), to pilot the program in sexual minority women with overweight/obesity, and to conduct individual qualitative interviews to elicit feedback on the intervention's acceptability, cultural relevance, usability, and feasibility that will be used to refine the program. After a pre-piloting phase (consisting of initial content piloting, interviews, and intervention refinement; anticipated n=12), 8 participants will pilot the full 3-month weight loss program and will be randomized to pilot 0-3 novel tailored components (targeting minority stress, negative body image, and social support) over the 3-month period. Participants will complete quantitative and qualitative assessments of intervention acceptability and appropriateness post-treatment and the intervention will be refined.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALBehavioral Weight Loss Intervention
Rx Weight Loss: PRIDE is a fully automated online behavioral obesity treatment that is tailored for sexual minority women and involves viewing 12 online video lessons delivered each week, self-monitoring body weight, calorie intake, and physical activity levels, and receiving personalized automated weekly feedback on progress toward goals.
BEHAVIORALMinority Stress Intervention
The Minority Stress Intervention is designed to help sexual minority women cope with stress and stigma (e.g., due to weight, sexual orientation, gender). In this program, participants watch online video lessons that teach cognitive and behavioral strategies for coping with minority stress so that it may have less of an influence on participants' weight and well-being.
BEHAVIORALNegative Body Image Intervention
The Negative Body Image Intervention is designed to help participants improve their body image. In this program, participants will watch online video lessons that provide education on queer women's body image and teach cognitive and behavioral strategies for improving your body image (regardless of your weight) to reduce its influence on your health.
BEHAVIORALSocial Support Intervention
The Social Support Intervention provides online opportunities for participants to receive more social support as they work toward their weight loss goals. Participants receive education on the importance of social support for weight management, they can earn badges for completing program milestones, and they gain access to a private online forum to get support and advice from other participants.
Sponsors
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
The Miriam Hospital
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
FACTORIAL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Masking description
There is no masking during the pilot phase where the goal is to improve the program's acceptability.
Intervention model description
After a pre-piloting phase (consisting of initial content piloting, interviews, and intervention refinement; anticipated n=12), participants (anticipated n=8) will receive the online weight loss treatment and will be randomized to receive 0-3 novel intervention components (targeting minority stress, negative body image, and social support) over the 3-month period. Participants will complete quantitative and qualitative assessments of intervention acceptability and appropriateness post-treatment. Enrollment for both the pre-piloting phases (anticipated n=12) and open pilot trial phase (anticipated n=8) are reported here.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to 70 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Assigned female at birth and currently identify as female * Self-identify a minority sexual orientation (e.g.,lesbian, bisexual) * BMI\>25kg/m2 * 18-70 years old * Interested in losing weight * Regular internet and e-mail access * Fluent in English
Exclusion criteria
* Significant weight loss within past 6 months (\>5%) * Unable to participate in moderate physical activity * Currently enrolled in a weight loss program * Currently taking weight-loss medication * Currently pregnant or trying to get pregnant * Participated in a previous Phase of this study * Reports a serious mental/physical health condition that would increase potential risks of treatment to the participant (e.g., active symptoms of psychosis, suicidality, mania, alcohol/substance use, or a medical condition that is serious, active, unstable, and degenerative (e.g., CHF)).
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Intervention Acceptability | Week 12 (post-treatment) | A measure of intervention acceptability adapted from the Acceptability of Intervention (AIM) measure will assess acceptability outcomes post-treatment. Qualitative data on intervention acceptability and cultural appropriateness will also be considered. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed