Text Messaging for Weight Loss

The University of Texas System (UT)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Obesity

Treatments: Behavioral: Personal feedback; Behavioral: one way text

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01736111

HSC-MS-12-0571

Details and patient eligibility

About

Overweight and obese adults recruited from the primary care setting (n=150) will be enrolled in a 6-month randomized trial of the INTERVENTION versus CONTROL. Both groups will receive usual medical care, printed materials, and educational text messages. The INTERVENTION group will also receive personalized coaching and feedback, as well as peer support, via text message.

The investigators hypothesize that compared to those in the Control group, patients in the Intervention group will lose more weight and demonstrate more favorable changes in fruit and vegetable intake, exercise, and social support for weight loss.

Enrollment: 91 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 21+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Approved to participate by PCP (Patients with diabetes, hypertension, or dyslipidemia will be eligible if approved by their PCP)
• Age ≥ 21 years
• Body mass index (BMI) 25 to 45 kg/m2 and weight ≤ 400 pounds
• Goal of losing weight (not just maintain weight)
• Willing to change diet, physical activity in order to lose weight.
• Currently uses text messaging in English on mobile phone
• Willing to use send and receive text messages for this study without direct compensation for cost of messages (general compensation for study participation will be provided)
• Have a scale at home for self-monitoring weight
• Fluent in English (speak, read, write)
• Commit to return for follow-up weight at 6 months regardless of amount of weight lost

Exclusion criteria

• Involuntary or voluntary weight loss of ≥ 5% body weight in previous 6 months

• Participating in research project involving weight loss, exercise, or dietary modification in the previous 6 months

• Any of the following medical conditions which could affect weight or for which weight loss is contraindicated

  • End-stage liver disease
  • End-stage kidney disease
  • Cancer within previous 2 years (except non-melanoma skin cancer)

• Myocardial infarction, stroke, or transient ischemic attack within previous 6 months

• Unstable angina

• Severe arthritis or other medical conditions which would prevent brisk walking

• Schizophrenia

• Hospitalization for psychiatric problems during the prior 12 months.

• Current use or anticipated future use (during 6 month study) of medications that could cause weight loss:

  • phentermine
  • orlistat (prescription Xenical or OTC Alli)
  • topiramate
  • buprioprion
  • exenatide (Byetta)
  • liraglutide (Victoza)

• Prior bariatric surgery or plans for bariatric surgery in next 6 months

• Pregnant or breast feeding within the previous 6 months

• Planning to become pregnant in next 6 months

• Consumes > 14 alcoholic drinks per week

• Current use of illicit drugs

• Planning to move out of the area in the next 6 months

• Another member of household or a close contact is participating in the study

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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91 participants in 2 patient groups

Personal feedback

Experimental group

Description:

This arm will receive all intervention components of Active Comparator group, plus the following: 1. Text messages to prompt participant to reply with self-monitoring entries 2. Human coach uses system to send personalized text messages with feedback on self-monitoring entries

Treatment:

Behavioral: Personal feedback

One Way Text

Active Comparator group

Description:

1. Printed handouts from the "Aim for a Healthy Weight" booklet, which is published by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and is frequently included in control conditions in primary care-based weight loss studies. Other handouts will discuss the use of prepackaged foods as well as setting goals for calorie intake, physical activity, and weight loss. 2. One to three text messages per week, based on topics from "Aim for a Healthy Weight" and other sources. The text messages will be pre-scheduled, automated, non-tailored, and "one-way" (no reply will be requested). The total dose of contact will be low because each text message is limited to 160 characters. The condition is comparable in intensity to control conditions in other weight loss trials in the primary care setting. 3. Usual medical care from the PCP. 4. Education on symptoms of hypoglycemia, hypotension, and cardiovascular disease, with instructions to contact their PCP in the event of those symptoms.

Treatment:

Behavioral: one way text