Noom Coach for Bariatric Surgery

Noom

Status: Completed

Conditions: Obesity

Treatments: Behavioral: Noom Coach for Bariatric Health

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; Industry

Identifiers

NCT03386006

R44DK116370

Details and patient eligibility

About

The prevalence of overweight in America is a national public health crisis. As more people consider bariatric surgery for the treatment of severe obesity, it is imperative to identify factors influencing surgical outcomes. Technology, particularly the Noom Coach platform, offers a unique opportunity to improve standard interventions utilized in bariatric surgery programs. This study plans to test the efficacy of the Noom Coach platform on patients' adherence behaviors and psychosocial factors compared to standard care.

Full description

Overweight and obesity have reached epidemic proportions in the United States. Few behavioral treatments are effective for overweight, and bariatric surgery is consequently an increasingly important option. Although these procedures produce significantly more weight change than psychosocial treatments, post-operative weight losses vary widely, about 20% of patients clearly experience suboptimal weight loss, and a notable subset of these patients demonstrate substantial weight regain. Further, 20-30% report persistence of disturbed eating, depression or anxiety, or impaired health related quality of life. Adherence, or "the extent to which a person's behavior coincides with medical or health advice," contributes to variable weight and psychosocial outcomes, as well as failure to follow dietary guidelines, each of which negatively impacts weight loss.

The present study, utilizing "Noom Coach for Bariatric Health", offers a unique opportunity to overcome obstacles to providing empirically supported treatments and to improve standard interventions utilized in bariatric surgery programs; however, rigorous research on apps is limited, and high-quality, adequately powered, randomized controlled trials with large samples are required. The project will therefore test a combined smartphone app and health coaching system to improve adherence and behavioral outcomes for patients receiving bariatric surgery.

Enrollment: 50 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 60 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Enrolled in: the Mount Sinai Bariatric Surgery Program and planning to receive a bariatric procedure.
• Between the ages of 18 and 60 at entry to the study.
• Speak English.

Exclusion criteria

• Clinically significant cognitive limitations or history of developmental disability.
• History of neurological disorder or injury.
• Current/lifetime Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) serious psychiatric disorder, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or psychotic disorder.
• Acute suicide risk.
• Current DSM-5 alcohol or substance use disorder.
• Pregnancy.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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50 participants in 2 patient groups

Noom Coach for Bariatric Health

Experimental group

Description:

Self-monitoring will be conducted through Noom Coach for Bariatric Health, and individuals will receive a specialized set of instructions on how to use the app.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Noom Coach for Bariatric Health

Usual Care

No Intervention group

Description:

The control group will be a "usual care" condition in which participants are free to seek any assistance for their bariatric surgery care during the study period.