Building Habits Together Online Weight Loss Program

NCT06154213 | Completed Results

• 2 other identifiers: HR22-0155R34HL145439
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 70
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The purpose of this pilot trial is to evaluate the feasibility of a lifestyle intervention where participants will all receive online weight loss counseling delivered via a private Facebook group, but be randomized to the Habit app (developed by the investigators) or MyFitnessPal, a commercial calorie tracking app.

Conditions

Obesity

Keywords

obesity; lifestyle intervention; mobile app

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (6)

• Mobile App Use

  Investigators will calculate the number of days participants used their assigned app

  24 weeks

• Retention

  Investigators will calculate retention as the proportion of participants who provide weight data at the 24 week follow-up

  24 weeks

• Engagement Per Participant in the Facebook Group

  For each participant, investigators will calculate total engagement in the Facebook group as defined as reactions (e.g., like, care, wow, etc.), replies, posts, and poll votes during the 24-week program. Then we will calculate mean or median engagement per participant over 24 weeks.

  24 weeks

• Ease of Use (Acceptability)

  Participants will rate how easy it was to use their assigned app (% who strongly agree/agree)

  24 weeks

• Contamination

  Investigators will report the percent of participants in the Habit condition that used MyFitnessPal or other calorie tracking apps during the program.

  24 weeks

• Time Consuming (Burden)

  Participants will rate their assigned app in terms of whether they felt it took too much time out of their day (% who strongly agree/agree)

  24 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Percentage of Baseline Weight Lost at 24 Weeks

  24 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Building Habits Together

EXPERIMENTAL

The Building Habits Together arm includes the 24-week, Facebook-delivered lifestyle intervention based on the Diabetes Prevention Program and use of the Habit app (temptation tracking, exercise planning, and problem solving features).

Behavioral: Building Habits Together

Getting Healthy Together

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The Getting Healthy Together arm includes the 24-week, Facebook-delivered lifestyle intervention based on the Diabetes Prevention Program and use of the MyFitnessPal app (daily calorie tracking, exercise tracking).

Behavioral: Getting Healthy Together

Interventions

Building Habits Together BEHAVIORAL

Private, hidden Facebook group "Building Habits Together" includes 24 weeks on content based on the Diabetes Prevention Program and the Habit app.

Building Habits Together

Getting Healthy Together BEHAVIORAL

Private, hidden Facebook group "Getting Healthy Together" includes 24 weeks on content based on the Diabetes Prevention Program and the MyFitnessPal app.

Getting Healthy Together

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• years old
• Body mass index (BMI) 27-45 kg/m2
• Wi-Fi connectivity at home
• Logs into Facebook at least 5 days per week over the past 2 weeks
• Has posted/replied on Facebook at least once a week in the past 2 weeks
• Able to participate in the study in English
• Interested in losing weight

You may not qualify if:

• Under the age of 18 and over the age of 65
• BMI under 27 or over 45 at screening; then under 27 at the point of the first weight on scale
• Does not have Wi-Fi connectivity at home
• Does not have a Facebook account
• Does not log into Facebook at least 5 days per week over the past 2 weeks
• Did not post/reply on Facebook once a week over the past 2 weeks
• Not able to participate in the study in English
• Does not live in the United States
• Not interested in losing weight
• Pregnant/lactating or plans to become pregnant during study period
• Reports having bipolar disorder, substance abuse, psychosis, an eating disorder, or severe depression
• Had bariatric surgery or plans to have surgery during the study
• Currently taking medication affecting weight
• Has lost ≥5% of weight in past 3 months
• Is participating or intends to participate in another weight loss program during the study that provides coaching or problem solving

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Connecticut: lead
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute: collaborator
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Connecticut

Storrs, Connecticut, 06269, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Obesity

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

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

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Sherry Pagoto, PhD
• Organization: University of Connecticut

sherry.pagoto@uconn.edu

(860) 486-5917

Study Officials

• Sherry Pagoto, PhD

  University of Connecticut

  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: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 23, 2023
• First Posted: December 4, 2023
• Study Start: April 3, 2023
• Primary Completion: November 1, 2023
• Study Completion: November 1, 2023
• Last Updated: March 30, 2025
• Results First Posted: March 30, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)