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ObesityProject HealthNCT01680224

Effectiveness Trial of a Dissonance-Based Obesity Prevention Program

A study testing Healthy Weight and Project Health in people with Obesity and Weight Gain, run by Oregon Research Institute at 4 sites in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Obesity is a major US public health problem. Few obesity prevention programs have reduced risk for weight gain over follow-up and those that have are very intensive, making dissemination difficult and costly. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 17 to 23 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Obesity, Weight Gain, Eating Disorders
What is being tested?
Healthy Weight and Project Health
Could I receive a placebo?
Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
How many people
364 participants
Where
4 sitesUnited States
Study dates
1 Sep 2012to 31 May 2018
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 17 to 23 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Child, Adult

Who may be able to join

  • University student
  • Presents with self-reported "weight concerns"

Who cannot join

  • Diagnosis of Eating Disorder
  • Obese
  • Underweight
  • Non-english speaking

Trial locations and contacts

4 sites in 1 country.

United States4 sites
  • University of Texas, Austin

    Austin, Texas, 78713

  • Oregon State University

    Corvallis, Oregon, 97331

  • University of Oregon

    Eugene, Oregon, 94703

  • Oregon Research Institute

    Eugene, Oregon, 97403

Other trials in United States

About this study

Obesity is a major US public health problem. Few obesity prevention programs have reduced risk for weight gain over follow-up and those that have are very intensive, making dissemination difficult and costly. A brief 3-hr selective prevention program (Healthy Weight) targeting young adults with body dissatisfaction involving participant-driven healthy dietary and physical activity lifestyle changes significantly reduced increases in body mass index (BMI) and obesity onset relative to alternative interventions and assessment-only controls through 3-yr follow-up, though effects were small in magnitude. To enhance efficacy, the investigators added dissonance-inducing activities regarding unhealthy dietary and activity practices, drawing from a highly efficacious dissonance-based eating disorder prevention program. A pilot trial found that this new Project Health intervention significantly reduced increases in BMI relative to both the Healthy Weight intervention and an educational brochure condition from pre to post. The investigators propose to conduct a rigorous multisite effectiveness trial that will test whether adding the dissonance-induction elements to the originally Healthy Weight intervention improves weight gain prevention effects. 360 college students at risk for future weight by virtue of their age and weight concerns will be randomized one of three conditions: (1) a refined 6-hr group-based dissonance-based Project Health, (2) a 6-hr group-based Healthy Weight intervention, or (3) a psychoeducational video ("Weight of the World") condition. Participants will complete assessments of % body fat, mediators (including objectively measured physical activity), moderators, and other outcomes at pre, post, and 6, 12, and 24 month follow-ups.

Read the detailed description

Aim 1 will test the hypothesis that Project Health significantly reduces increases in % body fat relative to the Healthy Weight intervention and video control condition during a 2-yr follow-up; secondary outcomes are BMI, depressive symptoms and eating disorder symptoms. The investigators will also compare Healthy Weight to video controls.

Aim 2 will test the hypothesis that Project Health participants will experience increased cognitive dissonance (an uncomfortable psychological state) regarding eating unhealthy foods and engaging in sedentary behaviors, and that changes in dissonance mediate the program's weight gain prevention effects. The investigators will also test whether reduced calorie intake and increased physical activity mediate the effects of Project Health on change in % body fat.

Aim 3 will test the hypothesis that intervention effects are amplified for participants with elevated body dissatisfaction (which should increase motivation change) and preference for consistency (which should maximize dissonance induction) and mitigated for participants who report emotional eating and substance use (because these factors increase risk for overeating).

Being tested
Healthy Weight, Project Health, Placebo Control
Keywords
Obesity, Weight Gain, Dissonance, College,University Students, Eating Disorders, Obesity Prevention, Selective Prevention, Effectiveness
Medical subject headings
Obesity, Weight Gain, Feeding and Eating Disorders

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Healthy WeightBehavioural

  • Project HealthBehavioural

  • Placebo ControlBehavioural

    Participants will view a video on overweight and obesity

Study groups in NCT01680224
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Healthy WeightActive comparatorThe main goal of the Healthy Weight intervention is to make small, sustainable changes to input and output on a weekly basis to achieve a balance between caloric intake and output. All sessions begin with a brief review of what was covered in the previous session, presentation of educational handouts, careful review of previous behavior change goals, and the development of healthy behavior change plans for the next session. Home exercises for all sessions consist of following individualized diet and exercise goals, and keeping a food and exercise log to determine areas for future healthy changes.
Receives: Behavioral: Healthy Weight
Project HealthExperimentalProject Health adds dissonance-inducing activities, discussions, and homework activities to the Healthy Weight basic intervention. Each session begins with a verbal commitment to participate (to underscore the voluntary nature of participation), includes discussions of completed home practice assignments and in-session writing/sharing exercises (to create accountability), and concludes with home exercises (to increase level of effort). Completed home assignments are videotaped in subsequent sessions to increase accountability.
Receives: Behavioral: Project Health
ControlPlacebo comparatorSome participants will be randomized to control condition whereby they will be given an psychoeducational video ("Weight of the World")to view.
Receives: Behavioral: Placebo Control

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Body Fat Percentage

    We will use air displacement plethysmography (ADP) via the Bod Pod S/T to assess % body fat. Two measures will be averaged. Body density, calculated as body mass divided by estimated body volume, is used to calculate age- and gender-adjusted body fat percentile scores, based on normative reference data (McCarthy et al., 2006). A pilot validity study (N = 30) revealed that direct DEXA measures of % body fat correlates much more strongly with ADP estimates of body fat (r = .88) than with BMI (r = .23). Change in age- and gender-adjusted body fat percentile over the 2-year follow-up will be the primary outcome. This assessment takes 3-5 minutes to complete.

    Measured: Changes in body fat from baseline to 2-year follow up

Secondary outcomes (3)
  1. Eating Pathology

    The Eating Disorder Diagnostic Interview, a brief semi-structured interview, will assess eating disorder symptoms. It provides diagnoses for anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder, which will allow us to exclude participants with these disorders. It also provides a continuous measure of overall eating disorder symptoms.

    Measured: Baseline and post intervention (6 weeks); 6/12/24 month follow-up

  2. Negative Affect

    The 20-item Negative Affect subscale of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS: Watson et al., 1988) measures general negative affectivity and depressive symptoms. Using a Likert rating system, participants choose their degree of endorsement of negative affectivity items such as "disgusted with self" and "lonely" (response options: 1 = not at all; 5 = extremely).

    Measured: Baseline and post intervention (6 weeks); 6/12/24 month follow-ups

  3. Food Craving/Liking

    The 28-item Food Craving Inventory (FCI; White et al., 2002) assesses subjective cravings for individual foods (pasta, ice cream), asking: "Over the past month, how often have you experienced a craving for the food?"

    Measured: Baseline, 6 weeks (post intervention), 6/12/24 month follow ups

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted7 Sep 2012 (estimated)
  2. Study start1 Sep 2012
  3. Primary completion30 Jun 2016
  4. Study completion31 May 2018

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
364 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT01680224
Sponsor's protocol ID
HD071900
Acronym
Project Health
Status last verified
Sep 2018
First submitted
29 Aug 2012
Last updated
21 Sep 2018
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes

Publications

  • Anderson DA, Shapiro JR, Lundgren JD. The freshman year of college as a critical period for weight gain: an initial evaluation. Eat Behav. 2003 Nov;4(4):363-7. doi: 10.1016/S1471-0153(03)00030-8.

    PubMed 15000962
  • Becker CB, Stice E, Shaw H, Woda S. Use of empirically supported interventions for psychopathology: can the participatory approach move us beyond the research-to-practice gap? Behav Res Ther. 2009 Apr;47(4):265-74. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2009.02.007. Epub 2009 Feb 21.

    PubMed 19281965
  • van den Berg P, Neumark-Sztainer D. Fat 'n happy 5 years later: is it bad for overweight girls to like their bodies? J Adolesc Health. 2007 Oct;41(4):415-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.06.001.

    PubMed 17875468
  • Blair AJ, Lewis VJ, Booth DA. Does emotional eating interfere with success in attempts at weight control? Appetite. 1990 Oct;15(2):151-7. doi: 10.1016/0195-6663(90)90047-c.

    PubMed 2268140
  • Block G, Subar AF. Estimates of nutrient intake from a food frequency questionnaire: the 1987 National Health Interview Survey. J Am Diet Assoc. 1992 Aug;92(8):969-77.

    PubMed 1640041
  • Bohon C, Stice E, Spoor S. Female emotional eaters show abnormalities in consummatory and anticipatory food reward: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Int J Eat Disord. 2009 Apr;42(3):210-21. doi: 10.1002/eat.20615.

    PubMed 19040270
  • Block G, Hartman AM, Naughton D. A reduced dietary questionnaire: development and validation. Epidemiology. 1990 Jan;1(1):58-64. doi: 10.1097/00001648-199001000-00013.

    PubMed 2081241
  • Boomsma. (2000). Reporting analyses of covariance structures. Structural Equation Modeling, 7, 461-483.

  • Boutelle KN, Hannan P, Fulkerson JA, Crow SJ, Stice E. Obesity as a prospective predictor of depression in adolescent females. Health Psychol. 2010 May;29(3):293-8. doi: 10.1037/a0018645.

    PubMed 20496983
  • Burton E, Stice E. Evaluation of a healthy-weight treatment program for bulimia nervosa: a preliminary randomized trial. Behav Res Ther. 2006 Dec;44(12):1727-38. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2005.12.008. Epub 2006 Feb 3.

    PubMed 16458252
  • Butler SM, Black DR, Blue CL, Gretebeck RJ. Change in diet, physical activity, and body weight in female college freshman. Am J Health Behav. 2004 Jan-Feb;28(1):24-32. doi: 10.5993/ajhb.28.1.3.

    PubMed 14977156
  • Chambers WJ, Puig-Antich J, Tabrizi MA, Davies M. Psychotic symptoms in prepubertal major depressive disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1982 Aug;39(8):921-7. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1982.04290080037006.

    PubMed 7103681
  • Cialdini, R. B., Trost, M. R., & Newsom, J. T. (1995). Preference for consistency: The development of a valid measure and the discovery of surprising behavioral implications. J Pers Soc Psychol, 69, 318-328.

  • Coleman KJ, Tiller CL, Sanchez J, Heath EM, Sy O, Milliken G, Dzewaltowski DA. Prevention of the epidemic increase in child risk of overweight in low-income schools: the El Paso coordinated approach to child health. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2005 Mar;159(3):217-24. doi: 10.1001/archpedi.159.3.217.

    PubMed 15753263
  • Colley RC, Tremblay MS. Moderate and vigorous physical activity intensity cut-points for the Actical accelerometer. J Sports Sci. 2011 May;29(8):783-9. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2011.557744.

    PubMed 21424979

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Healthy Weight and Project Health in people with Obesity and Weight Gain, run by Oregon Research Institute at 4 sites in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 21 Sep 2018. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 4 sites in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Body Fat Percentage (time frame: Changes in body fat from baseline to 2-year follow up). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT01680224, which also lists 99 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 21 Sep 2018; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 26 Oct 2026.

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