Charge: A Text Messaging-based Weight Loss Intervention

Obesity Clinical Trial

Official title:

Charge: Optimizing a Standalone Text Messaging-Based Weight Loss Intervention

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03254940
• Other study ID #: D0752
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: January 31, 2018
• Est. completion date: January 31, 2023

Study information

• Verified date: May 2023
• Source: Duke University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

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.

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.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 534
• Est. completion date: January 31, 2023
• Est. primary completion date: June 29, 2019
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years to 65 Years

Eligibility

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

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Body Weight
• Obesity
• Weight Loss

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Charge
Text messaging-based study to determine effect of different components on weight loss.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Duke University	Durham	North Carolina

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Duke University

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

References & Publications (18)

Befort CA, Nazir N, Perri MG. Prevalence of obesity among adults from rural and urban areas of the United States: findings from NHANES (2005-2008). J Rural Health. 2012 Fall;28(4):392-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-0361.2012.00411.x. Epub 2012 May 31. — View Citation

Bennett GG, Glasgow RE. The delivery of public health interventions via the Internet: actualizing their potential. Annu Rev Public Health. 2009;30:273-92. doi: 10.1146/annurev.publhealth.031308.100235. — View Citation

Collins LM, Baker TB, Mermelstein RJ, Piper ME, Jorenby DE, Smith SS, Christiansen BA, Schlam TR, Cook JW, Fiore MC. The multiphase optimization strategy for engineering effective tobacco use interventions. Ann Behav Med. 2011 Apr;41(2):208-26. doi: 10.1007/s12160-010-9253-x. — View Citation

Evans W, Nielsen PE, Szekely DR, Bihm JW, Murray EA, Snider J, Abroms LC. Dose-response effects of the text4baby mobile health program: randomized controlled trial. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2015 Jan 28;3(1):e12. doi: 10.2196/mhealth.3909. — View Citation

Finkelstein EA, Brown DS, Wrage LA, Allaire BT, Hoerger TJ. Individual and aggregate years-of-life-lost associated with overweight and obesity. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2010 Feb;18(2):333-9. doi: 10.1038/oby.2009.253. Epub 2009 Aug 13. — View Citation

Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Kit BK, Ogden CL. Prevalence of obesity and trends in the distribution of body mass index among US adults, 1999-2010. JAMA. 2012 Feb 1;307(5):491-7. doi: 10.1001/jama.2012.39. Epub 2012 Jan 17. — View Citation

Fontaine KR, Redden DT, Wang C, Westfall AO, Allison DB. Years of life lost due to obesity. JAMA. 2003 Jan 8;289(2):187-93. doi: 10.1001/jama.289.2.187. — View Citation

Han X, Stevens J, Truesdale KP, Bradshaw PT, Kucharska-Newton A, Prizment AE, Platz EA, Joshu CE. Body mass index at early adulthood, subsequent weight change and cancer incidence and mortality. Int J Cancer. 2014 Dec 15;135(12):2900-9. doi: 10.1002/ijc.28930. Epub 2014 May 8. — View Citation

Jensen MD, Ryan DH, Apovian CM, Ard JD, Comuzzie AG, Donato KA, Hu FB, Hubbard VS, Jakicic JM, Kushner RF, Loria CM, Millen BE, Nonas CA, Pi-Sunyer FX, Stevens J, Stevens VJ, Wadden TA, Wolfe BM, Yanovski SZ; American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines; Obesity Society. 2013 AHA/ACC/TOS guideline for the management of overweight and obesity in adults: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines and The Obesity Society. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2014 Jul 1;63(25 Pt B):2985-3023. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2013.11.004. Epub 2013 Nov 12. No abstract available. Erratum In: J Am Coll Cardiol. 2014 Jul 1;63(25 Pt B):3029-3030. — View Citation

Jordan ET, Ray EM, Johnson P, Evans WD. Text4Baby: using text messaging to improve maternal and newborn health. Nurs Womens Health. 2011 Jun-Jul;15(3):206-12. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-486X.2011.01635.x. No abstract available. — View Citation

Mokdad AH, Ford ES, Bowman BA, Dietz WH, Vinicor F, Bales VS, Marks JS. Prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and obesity-related health risk factors, 2001. JAMA. 2003 Jan 1;289(1):76-9. doi: 10.1001/jama.289.1.76. — View Citation

Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Flegal KM. Prevalence of obesity in the United States. JAMA. 2014 Jul;312(2):189-90. doi: 10.1001/jama.2014.6228. No abstract available. — View Citation

Ogden CL, Lamb MM, Carroll MD, Flegal KM. Obesity and socioeconomic status in adults: United States, 2005-2008. NCHS Data Brief. 2010 Dec;(50):1-8. — View Citation

Osei-Assibey G, Kyrou I, Adi Y, Kumar S, Matyka K. Dietary and lifestyle interventions for weight management in adults from minority ethnic/non-White groups: a systematic review. Obes Rev. 2010 Nov;11(11):769-76. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-789X.2009.00695.x. — View Citation

Rodriguez F, Ferdinand KC. Hypertension in minority populations: new guidelines and emerging concepts. Adv Chronic Kidney Dis. 2015 Mar;22(2):145-53. doi: 10.1053/j.ackd.2014.08.004. — View Citation

Shapiro JR, Koro T, Doran N, Thompson S, Sallis JF, Calfas K, Patrick K. Text4Diet: a randomized controlled study using text messaging for weight loss behaviors. Prev Med. 2012 Nov;55(5):412-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2012.08.011. Epub 2012 Aug 27. — View Citation

Steinberg DM, Levine EL, Askew S, Foley P, Bennett GG. Daily text messaging for weight control among racial and ethnic minority women: randomized controlled pilot study. J Med Internet Res. 2013 Nov 18;15(11):e244. doi: 10.2196/jmir.2844. — View Citation

Yang L, Colditz GA. Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in the United States, 2007-2012. JAMA Intern Med. 2015 Aug;175(8):1412-3. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2015.2405. No abstract available. — View Citation

* Note: There are 18 references in all — Click here to view all references

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Weight	absolute change in weight	baseline & 6 months
Secondary	Change in diet	To experimentally determine the effects of text messaging components and levels on change in diet	baseline, 6 & 12 months
Secondary	Change in physical activity	To experimentally determine the effects of text messaging components and levels on change in physical activity	baseline, 6 & 12 months
Secondary	Change in categorical weight loss (> 5%) at 6-months	To experimentally determine the effects of text messaging components and levels on change in categorical weight loss (>5%)	baseline, 6 & 12 months
Secondary	weight loss maintenance	To experimentally determine the effects of text messaging components and levels on change in 12-month maintenance of weight loss	baseline, 6 & 12 months
Secondary	Measure engagement in the intervention	To determine how many responses we receive to our questions and to measure associations of engagement with weight change at 6- and 12- months. We will also model trajectories of change in engagement over time	baseline, 6 & 12 months
Secondary	Compare Cost-effectiveness of interventions	To calculate the cost of the intervention's implementation and compare cost effectiveness of each intervention.	baseline & 6 months