Internet Assisted Obesity Treatment

Obesity Clinical Trial

— iReach  

Official title:

A Randomized Trial of an Internet Versus In-person Behavioral Weight Loss Treatment Program.

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT00265954
• Other study ID #: DK56746
• Secondary ID: R01DK056746
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: February 2006
• Est. completion date: October 2009

Study information

• Verified date: August 2019
• Source: University of Vermont
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

High quality behavioral weight loss programs are not widely accessible. The Internet offers one way to deliver health behavior programs to a wider audience. However, effective weight loss treatments are intensive and program delivery over the Internet may not be capable of duplicating the level of engagement typically generated during traditional in-person treatment. The goal of this study is to test the effectiveness of three weight loss interventions: Internet alone, Internet+periodic in-person support, and in-person alone. The investigators hypothesize that the in-person and internet+in-person interventions will produce better weight loss and maintenance than the internet only group.

Description:

Currently 65% of the adult population is overweight or obese. Unfortunately, safe and effective treatments for obesity are costly and intensive; therefore, this level of support is unlikely to be feasible in most clinical settings. Moreover, an additional limitation to current obesity treatment approaches is the limited reach and availability of programs for persons who work, live in rural areas or do not want, or cannot afford participation in group support classes. The advent of telecommunications technology may provide a solution to this dilemma. Telecommunications technology can presumably improve access to services and improve efficiency of delivery. Moreover, research examining new technologies such as the Internet, will provide information for policy makers interested in disseminating low-cost, high reach effective obesity treatment interventions. However, the effectiveness of the Internet for inducing weight loss has not been rigorously tested. Therefore, the overall goal of this project is to determine if obesity treatment can be effectively delivered over the Internet. A secondary aim is to evaluate whether the effectiveness of Internet interventions can be improved with the addition of minimal in-person support. Specifically, this project is a randomized, controlled clinical trial designed to test the translation of a behavioral weight loss program to the Internet (I). The I intervention will be compared to both an in-person condition (IP) and an Internet condition supplemented with periodic in-person support (I+IP). Subjects will be 488 (30% minority) overweight and obese adults recruited from Vermont and Arkansas who will participate in a 6-month behavioral weight control treatment program followed by 12 months of weight maintenance. Assessments will include measures of body weight, adherence to treatment goals, social influence components and frequency of use of Internet website features.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 481
• Est. completion date: October 2009
• Est. primary completion date: October 2009
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• >18 years old

• BMI>25

• Internet access

Exclusion Criteria:

• pregnancy

• major medical problems

• inability to walk for exercise

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Obesity
• Overweight

Intervention

Behavioral:
• internet, in-person and internet+in-person
All participants receive an 18 month behavioral weight loss program that meets weekly for the first 6 months and monthly for the next year.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	University of Vermont	Burlington	Vermont
United States	University of Arkansas for the Medical Sciences	Little Rock	Arkansas

Sponsors (3)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Vermont	National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), University of Arkansas

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Body Mass Index or body weight change		0, 6, 12, 18 month time points
Secondary	Social support, diet, exercise, adherence to treatment components		0, 6, 12, 18 months