Smart phone: promoting weight loss and improved health using mobile phone technology
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Leeds
Department Name: Lds Inst Genetics Health & Therapeutics
Abstract
Obesity is an increasing problem in the UK, affecting 1 in 5 women and 1 in 6 men. Yorkshire and the Humber have the highest rates of obesity for men in England, and approximately 1 in 4 children living in Leeds are overweight.
Total mobile phone ownership in the UK stands at #70.67m which is 16% more than the actual population, making it an ideal medium through which to communicate with a wide range of individuals. A ?smart? mobile phone could be a key tool for delivering a weight loss intervention and monitoring its effects on diet and exercise.
This project will use existing mobile phone technology (mobileDANTE and Nutracheck) to develop an integrated diet and physical activity intervention to support weight loss in adults. The intervention will be based on sound psychological theory targeting key determinants of obesity. Self-monitoring and goal setting will be important components built into the phone. The project will be split into three phases. Phase 1 will be selection of the best phone system (mobileDANTE and Nutracheck) for further technical development. This will be done using focus groups of potential users. The phone intervention will be developed and again tested with focus groups. Phase 2 will be validation of measurements of diet and exercise obtained by the mobile phone in a separate sample by comparing with gold standard methods of assessment including a technique to assess energy expenditure using Actigraph machines. The final phase will test the phone intervention in a pilot trial. 200 participants will be recruited through a large local employer and randomized to receive the phone intervention or standard care. Baseline measures will be taken and then repeated after 6 months. The pilot trial will be used to see how well the phone might work in a larger trial.
Total mobile phone ownership in the UK stands at #70.67m which is 16% more than the actual population, making it an ideal medium through which to communicate with a wide range of individuals. A ?smart? mobile phone could be a key tool for delivering a weight loss intervention and monitoring its effects on diet and exercise.
This project will use existing mobile phone technology (mobileDANTE and Nutracheck) to develop an integrated diet and physical activity intervention to support weight loss in adults. The intervention will be based on sound psychological theory targeting key determinants of obesity. Self-monitoring and goal setting will be important components built into the phone. The project will be split into three phases. Phase 1 will be selection of the best phone system (mobileDANTE and Nutracheck) for further technical development. This will be done using focus groups of potential users. The phone intervention will be developed and again tested with focus groups. Phase 2 will be validation of measurements of diet and exercise obtained by the mobile phone in a separate sample by comparing with gold standard methods of assessment including a technique to assess energy expenditure using Actigraph machines. The final phase will test the phone intervention in a pilot trial. 200 participants will be recruited through a large local employer and randomized to receive the phone intervention or standard care. Baseline measures will be taken and then repeated after 6 months. The pilot trial will be used to see how well the phone might work in a larger trial.
Technical Summary
Mobile phone use is ubiquitous throughout the adult population. In the USA, they have been used successfully to support weight loss activity. We will develop an intervention approach using support delivered via mobile phone technology to treat obesity in adults. This can later be evaluated in a definitive RCT which is not part of this proposal.
Study objectives are:
? To develop a mobile Smartphone package to support weight loss by testing and further adaptation of two existing systems MobileDANTE and the Nutracheck system
? To develop components of the intervention by applying a framework of four key determinants of obesity: appetite control; the force of dietary habits; the level of physical activity and the level of psychological ambivalence
? To develop personalized feedback components and reminder prompts for subjects
? To assess baseline diet, physical activity and obesity measures
? To implement an exploratory (phase II) trial using the intervention, assessing its feasibility and acceptability, prior to a definitive trial, in order:
i)to obtain evidence of potential recruitment rates
ii)to identify an appropriate control group
iii)to pilot instruments for outcome assessment of obesity, diet and physical activity
iv)to estimate effect sizes to be achieved in a full trial with regard to change in weight; waist circumference; blood lipids and blood pressure.
? To validate dietary and physical activity data captured on the Smartphone
The project will be carried out in three stages. Part 1 will develop the intervention by testing and further technical development of existing mobile phone systems. Five focus groups with 30 potential users will be undertaken to test the components of the intervention on the phone.
Part 2 will validate the measures of diet and physical activity using the phone. 50 adults will record diet and activity using the phone and a gold standard paper based detailed diary. In addition, energy expenditure will be assessed using Actigraph measures.
The third stage will be a pilot trial of the intervention. Overweight adults from a large NHS Teaching Hospital Trust will be recruited, 200 subjects will be randomised to receive either the Smartphone or usual advice. The intervention group will use the phone for 6 months. Baseline and follow up measures will be taken. The pilot trial will test the drop out rates; compliance; participant evaluation. Effect size data will be collected for use in derivation of sample size estimates for a full trial.
Study objectives are:
? To develop a mobile Smartphone package to support weight loss by testing and further adaptation of two existing systems MobileDANTE and the Nutracheck system
? To develop components of the intervention by applying a framework of four key determinants of obesity: appetite control; the force of dietary habits; the level of physical activity and the level of psychological ambivalence
? To develop personalized feedback components and reminder prompts for subjects
? To assess baseline diet, physical activity and obesity measures
? To implement an exploratory (phase II) trial using the intervention, assessing its feasibility and acceptability, prior to a definitive trial, in order:
i)to obtain evidence of potential recruitment rates
ii)to identify an appropriate control group
iii)to pilot instruments for outcome assessment of obesity, diet and physical activity
iv)to estimate effect sizes to be achieved in a full trial with regard to change in weight; waist circumference; blood lipids and blood pressure.
? To validate dietary and physical activity data captured on the Smartphone
The project will be carried out in three stages. Part 1 will develop the intervention by testing and further technical development of existing mobile phone systems. Five focus groups with 30 potential users will be undertaken to test the components of the intervention on the phone.
Part 2 will validate the measures of diet and physical activity using the phone. 50 adults will record diet and activity using the phone and a gold standard paper based detailed diary. In addition, energy expenditure will be assessed using Actigraph measures.
The third stage will be a pilot trial of the intervention. Overweight adults from a large NHS Teaching Hospital Trust will be recruited, 200 subjects will be randomised to receive either the Smartphone or usual advice. The intervention group will use the phone for 6 months. Baseline and follow up measures will be taken. The pilot trial will test the drop out rates; compliance; participant evaluation. Effect size data will be collected for use in derivation of sample size estimates for a full trial.