Weight Management Intervention in College: A Pilot Study

Lifespan

Status: Completed

Conditions: Obesity

Treatments: Behavioral: Control; Behavioral: BWLI-College

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT05895461

1793732

K23DK128561 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

This Proof-of-Concept study consists of a series of uncontrolled pilot studies to refine a behavioral weight loss trial using a "small change" approach for emerging adult college students with overweight/obesity. The primary aim of this study is maximize student acceptability of the intervention and weight loss outcomes.

Full description

Forty percent of emerging adults (age 18-25) have overweight or obesity, which is unlikely to remit and has significant health consequences. However, emerging adults are underrepresented in traditional weight loss programs, drop-out at high rates, and have blunted weight loss outcomes. One potential way to improve participation is to offer BWLIs in college health service centers to reduce barriers to participation. Approximately 40% of emerging adults are enrolled in a postsecondary institution and college health centers are used widely by students. Moreover, delivering an intervention with design features that are responsive to emerging adult preferences and lifestyles may also improve intervention effectiveness and attractiveness. The "small change" (SC) approach to weight loss addresses emerging adult barriers to engagement by focusing on reducing calories through a few self-selected, specific changes to current obesogenic behaviors, requiring less time and effort than traditional behavioral weight loss interventions (BWLI) and promoting autonomy and self-efficacy. The SC approach has been used effectively for weight loss in other populations. This proof-of-concept study is part of a larger study that aims to develop and refine a novel and effective BWLI based on a SC approach that is designed for emerging adults and for implementation in college health centers, an accessible care setting. The primary aim of this proof-of-concept study is to iteratively test and refine the intervention to maximize student acceptability and weight loss outcomes.

Enrollment: 42 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 29 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• BMI of 25 or greater
• Enrolled at college/university where study will take place
• English-speaking

Exclusion criteria

• History or current diagnosis of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or alcohol use disorder (current symptoms also assessed at screening using validated screening questionnaires)
• Participation in another formal weight loss program
• Current or recent pregnancy
• Psychiatric hospitalization in the past 12 months
• Recent weight loss of 5% body weight or more
• History of bariatric surgery
• Severe food or physical activity restrictions that would interfere with treatment recommendations

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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42 participants in 2 patient groups

BWLI-College

Experimental group

Description:

BWLI-College is a multicomponent behavioral weight loss intervention to reduce weight through diet, physical activity, and behavioral modifications designed to be responsive to emerging adult preferences. It will be delivered in a hybrid format with in-person and remotely-delivered asynchronous sessions. As presently designed, the intervention will last 10 weeks, though this may change with refinement.

Treatment:

Behavioral: BWLI-College

Control

Active Comparator group

Description:

The Control intervention consists of 1 in-person psychoeducational group session on general weight loss information and myths. Public web-resources about healthy eating and physical activity will be provided. Newsletters with similar content will be sent to promote retention.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Control