CClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT05997771PNA-ORIGINATEUpdated Jun 4, 2024

A Personal Nutrition Advisor to Assist Remote Dietary Counselling for Weight Loss and Maintenance

An interventional study of Personal Nutrition Advisor in Obesity, sponsored by Lia Bally. Completed at 1 site in Switzerland. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-06-04.

Sponsored by Lia Bally · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
81
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of the study is to assess the usability of the PNA and satisfaction with the treatment within the framework of usual care remote nutritional counselling for GLP-1-supported weight management and collect pilot data on its potential to support weight loss.

Read the detailed description

The global prevalence of obesity and overweight is increasing and persistently drives global mortality and morbidity.As overweight and obesity are the result of an imbalance between energy intake and energy use, achieving a negative energy balance build the foundation for weight loss. Whilst dietary modification as a standalone procedure often fail in achieving or maintaining weight loss, the recent advent of supportive Glucagon-like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) based pharmacotherapies have greatly changed the landscape.Dietary counselling help people on GLP-1 based treatment reaching their individual weight goals and continued reimbursement of medication costs. However, nutritional advice provided by dietitians is often generic, not sufficiently aligned to individual weight loss trajectories.

The "Personal Nutrition Advisor" (PNA) is a decision support tool which is built upon an interpretable weight prediction model based on the energy balance equation (energy intake is a function of recorded dietary intake and a latent part dependent on observed weight changes, whereas energy expenditure is a function of weight and physical activity). Food, weight- and activity records captured using a smartphone application represent input data to the model. Output of the model is the predicted body weight trajectory alongside with personalized recommendations to reach a pre-defined target weight.

Integrating the PNA into a remote dietary counselling programme, in which certified dietitians deliver nutritional and lifestyle coaching via an application, has the potential to improve treatment satisfaction and efficacy. Therefore, the purpose of the study assess the usability of the PNA and satisfaction with the treatment within the framework of usual care remote nutritional counselling for GLP-1-supported weight management and collect pilot data on its potential to support weight loss.

02

Conditions studied

  • Obesity

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Keywords

  • Nutritional counselling
  • Personalised nutrition
  • Dietary advice
  • Usability
03

In context

Weight Loss

1,766 studies on the registry are indexed under Weight Loss; 277 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 81 is above the median of 73 across 1,496 interventional studies indexed under Weight Loss.

Browse Weight Loss studies →

Lead sponsor

Lia Bally is the lead sponsor of 14 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Written informed consent
  • Receiving GLP-1-based pharmacotherapy in combination with remote nutritional counselling
  • Achieved weight loss of ≥5 (for baseline BMI 28-35 kg/m2) or ≥7% (for baseline BMI≥35kg/m2) after 4 months of GLP-1 based therapy (1st milestone)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Inability to give written informed consent
  • Any physical or psychological disease or condition likely to interfere with the normal conduct of the study and interpretation of the study results
  • Self-reported pregnancy, planed pregnancy within next 3 months or breast-feeding
  • Concomitant participation in another trial that interferes with the normal conduct of the study and interpretation of the study results
  • Not proficient in German
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
81 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Study Intervention Group

    The study intervention group will be undergoing 3 months of Personalized Nutrition Advisor (PNA)-assisted remote nutritional counselling.The PNA data analysis tool will be used by the dietitians during remote nutritional counselling sessions.The service will be delivered to patients undergoing GLP-1 based obesity treatment as part of their usual care. The study intervention group will report treatment-satisfaction and self-efficacy via questionnaires at baseline, 1.5 - and 3 months. Patients who expressed their interest in participating in a focus group at the time of study inclusion, will be invited for a 60 min online interview session chaired by an experienced moderator. The focus group will consists of a maximum of 10 participants and address the patient's perspective on the utility of the dietitians' advice, discrepancy from expectations, general feedback and suggestions for PNA improvement using a semi structured discussion guide held in an open and spontaneous format

    Other: Personal Nutrition Advisor

Interventions

  • OtherPersonal Nutrition Advisor

    The study intervention will be the use of the PNA data analysis tool during remote nutritional counselling sessions delivered by certified dietitians, also referred to as PNA-assisted remote nutritional counselling.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in the overall mean satisfaction score of the Nutritional and Dietetic Patient Outcomes Questionnaire (NDPOQ)

    This outcome will evaluate the patient treatment satisfaction with the counselling of the "Personal Nutrition Advisor" (PNA) -assisted remote nutritional counselling. The NDPOQ includes a 5 point likert scale of agreement (5 points=strongly agree, 1 point= strongly disagree) of 15 questions.

    Time frame: From baseline to 3 months of the respective study period

  2. The overall mean score of the "perceived impact" section from the user version of the mobile application scale (uMARS )

    This outcome will evaluate patient satisfaction with the counselling of the "Personal Nutrition Advisor" (PNA) -assisted remote nutritional counselling. The uMARS includes a 5 point likert scale of agreement (5 points=strongly agree, 1 point= strongly disagree) of 5 questions.

    Time frame: Post intervention visit (3 months after baseline)

  3. The overall mean score of the Healthcare Systems Usability Scale (HSUS)

    This outcome will evaluate dietitian reported usability of the "Personal Nutrition Advisor" (PNA)- assisted remote nutritional counselling. HSUS includes a 5 point likert scale of agreement (5 points=strongly agree, 1 point= strongly disagree) of 20 questions.

    Time frame: Post intervention visit (3 months after baseline)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in self reported weight (%)

    This outcome will evaluate the potential to support weight loss by PNA-assisted remote nutritional counselling (self-reported weight closest to start and end of the study period).

    Time frame: From baseline to 3 months of the respective study period

  2. Proportion of patients reaching >5% weight loss

    This outcome will evaluate the potential to support weight loss by PNA-assisted remote nutritional counselling (calculated from the initial weight, measured in-clinic at start of the GLP-1 based pharmacotherapy)

    Time frame: At start of the GLP-1 based pharmacotherapy to 3 months of the respective study period

  3. Proportion of patients reaching >10% weight loss

    This outcome will evaluate the potential to support weight loss by PNA-assisted remote nutritional counselling (calculated from the initial weight, measured in-clinic at start of the GLP-1 based pharmacotherapy)

    Time frame: At start of the GLP-1 based pharmacotherapy to 3 months of the respective study period

  4. Proportion of patients reaching >15% weight loss

    This outcome will evaluate the potential to support weight loss by PNA-assisted remote nutritional counselling (calculated from the initial weight, measured in-clinic at start of the GLP-1 based pharmacotherapy)

    Time frame: At start of the GLP-1 based pharmacotherapy to 3 months of the respective study period

  5. Change in daily number of logged meals and beverages

    This outcome will evaluate the impact of PNA-assisted remote nutritional counselling on frequency of dietary self-monitoring (manual entries of pictures, text tags and food/beverage tags per day)

    Time frame: From the first day of the respective study period to 3 months thereafter

  6. Change in energy intake (kcal/day)

    This outcome will evaluate the impact of PNA-assisted remote nutritional counselling on PNA derived dietary intake, calculated by the energy balance model embedded in the PNA using manual entries of weight logs, meal logs and activity logs.

    Time frame: From the first day of the respective study period to 3 months thereafter

  7. Change in energy expenditure (kcal/day)

    This outcome will evaluate the impact of PNA-assisted remote nutritional counselling on PNA derived dietary expenditure, calculated by the energy balance model embedded in the PNA using manual entries of weight logs, meal logs and activity logs.

    Time frame: From the first day of the respective study period to 3 months thereafter

  8. Change in relative carbohydrate content (%)

    This outcome will evaluate the impact of PNA-assisted remote nutritional counselling on PNA derived nutrient distribution, calculated by the energy balance model embedded in the PNA using manual entries of weight logs, meal logs and activity logs.

    Time frame: From the first day of the respective study period to 3 months thereafter

  9. Change in relative protein content (%)

    This outcome will evaluate the impact of PNA-assisted remote nutritional counselling on PNA derived nutrient distribution, calculated by the energy balance model embedded in the PNA using manual entries of weight logs, meal logs and activity logs.

    Time frame: From the first day of the respective study period to 3 months thereafter

  10. Change in relative fat content (%)

    This outcome will evaluate the impact of PNA-assisted remote nutritional counselling on PNA derived nutrient distribution, calculated by the energy balance model embedded in the PNA using manual entries of weight logs, meal logs and activity logs.

    Time frame: From the first day of the respective study period to 3 months thereafter

  11. Change in relative fiber content (%)

    This outcome will evaluate the impact of PNA-assisted remote nutritional counselling on PNA derived nutrient distribution, calculated by the energy balance model embedded in the PNA using manual entries of weight logs, meal logs and activity logs.

    Time frame: From the first day of the respective study period to 3 months thereafter

  12. Change in self-reported exercise engagement per week (hours/week)

    This outcome will evaluate the impact of PNA-assisted remote nutritional counselling on self-reported physical activity using manual entries of activity logs.

    Time frame: At baseline and at 3 months of study intervention

  13. Change in the overall mean score of the General Self-efficacy Scale (GSE) from Imperial College London

    This outcome will evaluate the impact of PNA-assisted remote nutritional counselling on self-efficacy. GSE includes a 5 point Likert scale of confidence (Not at all confident =1 point, Extremely confident=5 points) of 6 questions.

    Time frame: From baseline to 3 months of the respective study period

  14. Collection of open ended PNA specific feedback questionnaires

    This qualitative outcome will collect opinions from patients and dietitians regarding the components of the PNA with the aim to further optimise its perceived usefulness.

    Time frame: Post intervention visit (3 months after baseline)

  15. Qualitative collection of patient reported PNA specific feedback.

    This qualitative outcome will be assessed by an semi structured remote patient group interview addressing the patient's perspective on the utility of the dietitians' advice, discrepancy from expectations, general feedback and suggestions for PNA improvement.

    Time frame: Post intervention visit (3 months after baseline)

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology, Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital
    Bern, 3010, Switzerland
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes — Anonymised individual participant data will be shared after inquiry via a validated sharing platform (yet to be defined). Anonymised data packages will be available once the final study results are published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Supporting information: Study protocol

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jun 4, 2024, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05997771
Lead sponsor
Lia Bally
Responsible party
Lia Bally (Prof. Dr.med. et Dr. phil., Insel Gruppe AG, University Hospital Bern) — Sponsor-investigator
First posted
Aug 18, 2023
Start date
Aug 25, 2023
Primary completion
Apr 22, 2024
Completion
May 6, 2024
Last update
Jun 4, 2024

Study contacts

Lia Bally, MD-PhD
principal investigator · Inselspital University Hospital Bern, University of Bern

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Jun 2024. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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