Episodic Future Thinking and Weight-Loss

NCT03731325 | Completed Results

• 2 other identifiers: 201807151R01HD080292
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 7
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Family-based treatments (FBT) for obesity have been shown to be effective in achieving significant weight reductionin overweight or obese children and parents \[Altman \& Wilfley, 2015\]. One component of the current FBT programused in this study that has received little attention is thought training, specifically episodic future thinking (EFT). EFTteaches individuals to pre-experience events, or think prospectively, about future events as if they were happeningnow and has been shown to reduce delay discounting (DD) which is defined as discounting smaller rewards now for a larger reward in the \[Daniel, Said, Stanton, \& Epstein\]. Furthermore, EFT has been shown to help people purchase fewer calories when they are grocery shopping \[Hollis-Hansen et al., 2019\], thereby displaying potential to be an effective measure in modulating the food environment in homes and may play a role in changing eating behaviors related to weight loss \[Appelhaus et al.,2019\]. Given the power of EFT in promoting the purchase of fewer calories, it is plausible that EFT training focused around grocery shopping during FBT could help shift one's thought processes towards healthier food choices, promoting behavioral change that has lasting impact on the home environment. Thus, the primary purpose of this study is to assess whether EFT training promotes active behavioral change pertaining to grocery shopping during FBT. In turn,this resulting behavior change could lead to healthier eating behavior and may promote weight loss for the whole family. We hypothesize:

• There will be a reduction in BMI for adults/percent over BMI for children and weight from baseline
• There will be a reduction in delay discounting for children

Conditions

Overweight and Obesity

Keywords

Episodic future thinking; Obesity; Family based treatment

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Change in BMI for Parent Participants From Baseline at Weeks 8, 11 and 15

  Height (cm) and weight (lbs) will be assessed to calculate BMI (kg/m\^2) for parents. Change will be assessed at baseline, week 8, 11 and 15 from baseline.

  Change from Baseline BMI at week 8, 11 and 15

• Change in Weight for Parents From Baseline at Weeks 8, 11 and 15

  Weight was measured in lbs

  Change from Baseline weight at week 8, 11 and 15

• Change in BMI Percentile for Children

  Change in BMI percentile for children from 0, 8, 11 and 15 weeks

  Baseline, 8, 11 and 15 weeks

• Change in Weight for Children From Baseline at Weeks 8, 11 and 15

  Weight was measured in lbs and examined as change from baseline in lbs at week 8, 11 and 15

  Change from Baseline weight at week 8, 11 and 15

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Delay Discounting for Children

  Baseline, 10 weeks, 15 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Episodic Future Thinking Group 7-week baseline

EXPERIMENTAL

The experimental group will receive the Episodic Future Thinking (EFT) intervention after a 7-week baseline. EFT teaches individuals to pre-experience events, or think prospectively, about future events as if they were happening now \[Atance\].

Behavioral: Episodic Future Thinking Group

Episodic Future Thinking Group 10-week baseline

EXPERIMENTAL

The experimental group will receive the Episodic Future Thinking (EFT) intervention after a 10-week baseline. EFT teaches individuals to pre-experience events, or think prospectively, about future events as if they were happening now \[Atance\].

Behavioral: Episodic Future Thinking Group

Interventions

Episodic Future Thinking Group BEHAVIORAL

Participants in the Episodic Future Thinking (EFT) Group will train with EFT throughout the entire study. As part of the training, research staff will help participants create "cues." Cues are descriptions of future events the participant can vividly imagine as happening right now. Participants will be instructed to think about the EFT cues they created to help them focus on the future and importance of reaching their weight-loss goals. Participants will be instructed to use their EFT cues at least once per day, but will be encouraged to use their cues with every eating and physical activity decision.

Episodic Future Thinking Group 10-week baseline; Episodic Future Thinking Group 7-week baseline

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 10 Years - 14 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Child age between 10-14
• Child height and weight that calculates to a BMI above the 85th percentile (BMI in overweight/obesity range)
• Parent height and weight that calculates to a BMI above 18
• Possession of at least one electronic device (per family) with WiFi capabilities (e.g. smartphone, tablet, computer)
• Home internet access
• Motivation to lose weight

You may not qualify if:

• Disordered eating patterns (e.g. binge-eating disorder, extreme weight-loss behaviors)
• A family history of eating disorders (siblings, children, parents, or grandparents)
• Medical conditions that are known to interfere with weight-loss (e.g. type 1 diabetes, thyroid disease)
• Medical conditions that may affect their ability to use the computer for a prolonged period of time or follow study protocol
• Substance use, abuse, or dependence (e.g. binge drinkers, illicit substance users, alcoholics)
• Plans to start or stop a medication that may affect appetite/weight-loss during the intervention period
• Have started a medication within 6 months that is affecting appetite/weight-loss
• Plans to move out of the area during the treatment period
• Pregnancy/breastfeeding or plans of becoming pregnant during the study period
• Is participating in another weight-loss program
• Can not successfully record eating behavior in the MyFitnessPal app
• A) Had bariatric surgery less than one year ago B) If the potential participant had bariatric surgery over a year ago, their weight has not been stable for at least 6 months

Sponsors & Collaborators

• State University of New York at Buffalo: lead
• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD): collaborator
• Washington University School of Medicine: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Washington University in St. Louis

St Louis, Missouri, 63130, United States

Location

Related Publications (7)

• Daniel TO, Stanton CM, Epstein LH. The future is now: comparing the effect of episodic future thinking on impulsivity in lean and obese individuals. Appetite. 2013 Dec;71:120-5. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2013.07.010. Epub 2013 Jul 31.

  PMID: 23917063 BACKGROUND

• Benoit RG, Gilbert SJ, Burgess PW. A neural mechanism mediating the impact of episodic prospection on farsighted decisions. J Neurosci. 2011 May 4;31(18):6771-9. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.6559-10.2011.

  PMID: 21543607 BACKGROUND

• Boyer P. Evolutionary economics of mental time travel? Trends Cogn Sci. 2008 Jun;12(6):219-24. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2008.03.003. Epub 2008 May 28.

  PMID: 18468941 BACKGROUND

• Daniel TO, Said M, Stanton CM, Epstein LH. Episodic future thinking reduces delay discounting and energy intake in children. Eat Behav. 2015 Aug;18:20-4. doi: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2015.03.006. Epub 2015 Mar 28.

  PMID: 25863227 BACKGROUND

• Atance CM, O'Neill DK. Episodic future thinking. Trends Cogn Sci. 2001 Dec 1;5(12):533-539. doi: 10.1016/s1364-6613(00)01804-0.

  PMID: 11728911 BACKGROUND

• John LK, Loewenstein G, Troxel AB, Norton L, Fassbender JE, Volpp KG. Financial incentives for extended weight loss: a randomized, controlled trial. J Gen Intern Med. 2011 Jun;26(6):621-6. doi: 10.1007/s11606-010-1628-y. Epub 2011 Jan 20.

  PMID: 21249462 BACKGROUND

• Leahey TM, Fava JL, Seiden A, Fernandes D, Doyle C, Kent K, La Rue M, Mitchell M, Wing RR. A randomized controlled trial testing an Internet delivered cost-benefit approach to weight loss maintenance. Prev Med. 2016 Nov;92:51-57. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.04.013. Epub 2016 Apr 17.

  PMID: 27095323 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Overweight; Obesity

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Body Weight; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Tina Day
• Organization: Washington University in St. Louis

dayt@wustl.edu

314-286-0079

Study Officials

• Leonard Epstein, PhD

  State University of New York at Buffalo

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Denise Wilfley, PhD

  Washington University School of Medicine

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: No
• Restrictive Agreement: No

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Model Details: Non-concurrent multiple baseline design;participants will be randomized to a 7 week, or 10 week group with staggered baseline periods followed by 4-8 weeks of the intervention consisting of FBT and EFT. Enrollment is for parent-child dyads.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 30, 2018
• First Posted: November 6, 2018
• Study Start: May 31, 2019
• Primary Completion: June 20, 2020
• Study Completion: December 31, 2020
• Last Updated: October 22, 2024
• Results First Posted: October 22, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)