Charge: A Text Messaging-based Weight Loss Intervention
Status
Completed
Conditions
Weight Loss
Obesity
Treatments
Behavioral: Charge
Details and patient eligibility
About
This study evaluates different versions of a text messaging-based app for weight loss. This study will place participants to 1 of 32 experimental conditions that reflect different texting components and levels. Participants will be randomized to a condition. The investigators will recruit 448 adults into a 6-month weight loss program, with an additional follow-up 6-months after the intervention ends.
Full description
Standalone text messaging-based weight loss treatments are scalable and can achieve population reach. However, these interventions are also modular; they can be delivered independently to maximize cost-effectiveness or combined with other approaches (e.g. provider counseling) to maximize outcomes. This study is a 12-month experimental trial among 448 adults with obesity. All participants will receive a core 6-month weight loss texting intervention that includes tailored behavior change goals, interactive self-monitoring, automated feedback, and skills training. Participants will be randomly assigned to 1 of 32 different experimental conditions.
Enrollment
534 patients
Sex
All
Ages
18 to 65 years old
Volunteers
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Inclusion criteria
- males and females aged 18-65 years
- participants have English language proficiency
- participants have a BMI between 25-40 kg/m2
- Participants will own a smartphone
- Participants will be willing to receive multiple text messages daily.
Exclusion criteria
- prior or planned bariatric surgery
- psychiatric hospitalization in past 12 months
- pregnancy, nursing, or planned pregnancy
- history of a cardiovascular event
- history of an eating disorder
- history of a condition (e.g., end stage renal disease, cancer, schizophrenia) or use of medications (e.g., lithium, steroids, anti-psychotics) that would affect weight measurement, for which weight loss is contraindicated, or might promote weight change
- current participation in a weight loss trial and/or recent weight loss > 10%
- investigator discretion for safety reasons
Trial design
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Interventional model
Factorial Assignment
Masking
Single Blind
534 participants in 32 patient groups
Arm 1: WT-SM-OR-SS-CS
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: weekly tracking, self-generated motivational messages, one reminder, summary score, compare to self
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 2: WT-SM-OR-SS-CG
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: weekly tracking, self-generated motivational messages, one reminder, summary score, compare to group
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 3: WT-SM-OR-SF-CS
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: weekly tracking, self-generated motivational messages, one reminder, specific goal feedback, compare to self
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 4: WT-SM-OR-SF-CG
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: weekly tracking, self-generated motivational messages, one reminder, specific goal feedback, compare to group
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 5: WT-SM-MR-SS-CS
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: weekly tracking, self-generated motivational messages, multiple reminders, summary score, compare to self.
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 6: WT-SM-MR-SS-CG
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: weekly tracking, self-generated motivational messages, multiple reminders, summary score, compare to group.
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 7: WT-SM-MR-SF-CS
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: weekly tracking, self-generated motivational messages, multiple reminders, specific feedback, compare to self
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 8: WT-SM-MR-SF-CG
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: weekly tracking, self-generated motivational messages, multiple reminders, specific feedback, compare to group
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 9: WT-EM-OR-SS-CS
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: weekly tracking, expert-generated motivational messages, one reminder, summary score, compare to self
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 10: WT-EM-OR-SS-CG
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: weekly tracking, expert-generated motivational messages, one reminder, summary score, compare to group
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 11: WT-EM-OR-SF-CS
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: weekly tracking, expert-generated motivational messages, one reminder, specific goal feedback, compare to self
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 12: WT-EM-OR-SF-CG
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: weekly tracking, expert-generated motivational messages, one reminder, specific goal feedback, compare to group.
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 13: WT-EM-MR-SS-CS
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: weekly tracking, expert-generated motivational messages, multiple reminders, summary score, compare to self
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 14: WT-EM-MR-SS-CG
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: weekly tracking, expert-generated motivational messages, multiple reminders,summary score, compare to group
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 15: WT-EM-MR-SF-CS
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: weekly tracking, expert-generated motivational messages, multiple reminders, specific goal feedback, compare to self
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 16: WT-EM-MR-SF-CG
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: weekly tracking, expert-generated motivational messages, multiple reminders, specific goal feedback, compare to group
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 17: DT-SM-OR-SS-CS
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: daily tracking, self-generated motivational messages, one reminder, summary score, compare to self.
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 18: DT-SM-OR-SS-CG
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: daily tracking, self-generated motivational messages, one reminder, summary score, compare to group
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 19: DT-SM-OR-SF-CS
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: daily tracking, self-generated motivational messages, one reminder, specific goal feedback, compare to self.
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 20: DT-SM-OR-SF-CG
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: daily tracking, self-generated motivational messages, one reminder, specific goal feedback, compare to group
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 21: DT-SM-MR-SS-CS
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: daily tracking, self-generated motivational messages, multiple reminders, summary score, compare to self
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 22: DT-SM-MR-SS-CG
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: daily tracking, self-generated motivational messages, multiple reminders, summary score, compare to group.
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 23: DT-SM-MR-SF-CS
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: daily tracking, self-generated motivational messages, multiple reminders, specific goal feedback, compare to self.
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 24: DT-SM-MR-SF-CG
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: daily tracking, self-generated motivational messages, multiple reminders, specific goal feedback, compare to group
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 25: DT-EM-OR-SS-CS
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: daily tracking, expert-generated motivational messages, one reminder, summary score, compare to self
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 26: DT-EM-OR-SS-CG
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: daily tracking, expert-generated motivational messages, one reminder, summary score, compare to group
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 27: DT-EM-OR-SF-CS
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: daily tracking, expert-generated motivational messages, one reminder, specific goal feedback, compare to self
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 28: DT-EM-OR-SF-CG
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: daily tracking, expert-generated motivational messages, one reminder, specific goal feedback, compare to group
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 29: DT-EM-MR-SS-CS
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: daily tracking, expert-generated motivational messages, multiple reminders, summary score, compare to self
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 30: DT-EM-MR-SS-CG
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: daily tracking, expert-generated motivational messages, multiple reminders, summary score, compare to group
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 31: DT-EM-MR-GF-CS
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: daily tracking, expert-generated motivational messages, multiple reminders, specific goal feedback, compare to self
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Arm 32: DT-EM-MR-GF-CG
Experimental group
Description:
Charge: daily tracking, expert-generated motivational messages, multiple reminders, specific goal feedback, compare to group.
Treatment:
Behavioral: Charge
Trial contacts and locations
1
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Data sourced from clinicaltrials.gov
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