View Clinical Trial (Medical Research Study)

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Strategies for Weight Loss - NCT01167634-19104(Clinical Trial 712237)



ClinicalConnection.com has recently undergone an update and this page may no longer be up-to-date. Please Search For Clinical Trials to view the most current clinical trials listings.


Signup
City:  Philadelphia
State:  
PA
Zip Code: 19104
Conditions: Weight Loss
Purpose: This is a 3-arm, randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of financial incentives to motivate and sustain long-term weight loss. The study will recruit eligible employees at a large health management company to participate in a 6 month weight loss program and have weight measurements for an additional 3 month follow-up period. The primary outcome measure in this randomized controlled trial will be pounds of weight lost. The experimental groups will include variations of deposit contracts (participants put their own money at risk, and lose that money if they fail to achieve their weight loss goal) and fixed payments. The use of deposit contracts is a powerful mechanism for inducing behavior change that is based on loss aversion, a psychological concept first described by Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky in 1979. A deposit contract takes advantage of the fact that people typically feel the pain of a loss more than the pleasure of a gain, increasing ones motivation to reach a goal. The study hypotheses are 1) mean weight loss will be greater in all intervention groups compared to the control group by the end of 24 weeks; and 2) individuals in the intervention groups will have a lower mean weight at the end of the 3 month follow-up period than individuals in the control group.
Study summary:
Criteria: Inclusion Criteria: - Aged 18 to 70 (inclusive) - BMI between 30 and 40 (inclusive) Exclusion Criteria: - Inability to consent - No known Illiteracy and/or inability to speak, read, and write English - Participation in another weight loss program - Participation in another research study - Current treatment for drug or alcohol use - Consumption of 5 alcoholic drinks per day - Myocardial infarction or stroke within the past 6 months - Uncontrolled hypertension (defined as BP170 mm Hg systolic or BP110 mm Hg diastolic) - Current addiction to prescription medicines or street drugs - Serious psychiatric diagnoses (severe depression, schizophrenia) - Pregnancy - Diabetic and using any medicine besides metformin to control blood sugars - Metastatic cancer - Unstable medical conditions that would likely prevent the subject from completing the study - Previous diagnosis of an eating disorder - History of unsafe weight loss behaviors such as binging or the use of laxatives
Study is available at: University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104
United States

Primary Contact:
Laurie A Norton, MA
Email: Laurie.Norton@va.gov
Phone: 215-573-1192
If you are interested in this clinical trial please use the contact information above. If you would like to get additional information about this clinical trial please visit ClinicalTrials.gov.
Trials Alerts: If you would like to be notified of new clinical trials as they become available please register for a free account.
Data Source: ClinicalTrials.gov
Date Processed: March 23, 2011
Modifications to
this listing:		 Only selected fields are shown, please use the link above to view all information about this clinical trial.