An interventional study of Minimal contact control and Promotion and Prevention Interventions in Weight Control, sponsored by University of North Florida. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-04-17.
Sponsored by University of North Florida · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The study aimed to investigate 1) if a brief, regulatory focus-based intervention could promote weight control and changes in certain lifestyle behaviors and 2) how weight was affected by changes in these behaviors. The lifestyle behaviors of interest included meal regularity, self-monitoring of diet and physical activity, fast-food eating, screen related viewing and eating, dietary modifications, self-weighing, and physical activity. It was hypothesized that increases in meal regularity, self-monitoring, healthy dietary modifications, self-weighing, and physical activity would lead to better weight control over six months. Conversely, it was hypothesized that increases in fast food consumption and screen related eating and viewing would lead to poorer weight control over six months. It was expected that promotion and prevention conditions, relative to the control condition, would lead to better weight control and increases in meal regularity, self-monitoring, healthy dietary modifications, self-weighing, and physical activity, and decreases in fast food consumption and screen related eating and viewing. Furthermore, it was expected that the promotion condition would lead to better outcomes than the prevention condition.
University of North Florida is the lead sponsor of 6 studies on the registry; 1 is open to participants now.
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Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
BMI (body mass index)
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants in the control group received a pamphlet about general dietary and physical activity guidelines.
Behavioral: Minimal contact control
Participants completed a 1-hour educational information session with study staff and received a packet which contained information about energy balance, healthy food choices, exercise recommendations, strategies for weight control, goal setting, and responding to lapses. Participants were encouraged to track their food intake and exercise with a provided log book or free apps (Lose It!; MyFitnessPal). All messages and study tasks were framed in terms of promotion focus. Email messages were sent every 2 to 3 weeks to reinforce the study messages about health promotion and weight control.
Behavioral: Promotion and Prevention Interventions
Participants completed a 1-hour educational information session with study staff and received a packet which contained information about energy balance, healthy food choices, exercise recommendations, strategies for weight control, goal setting, and responding to lapses. Participants were encouraged to track their food intake and exercise with a provided log book or free apps (Lose It!; MyFitnessPal). All messages and study tasks were framed in terms of prevention focus. Email messages were sent every 2 to 3 weeks to reinforce the study messages about health promotion and weight control.
Behavioral: Promotion and Prevention Interventions
Participants in the control group received a pamphlet about general dietary and physical activity guidelines.
regulatory focus groups, participants completed a 1-hour educational information session with study staff and received a packet which contained information about energy balance, healthy food choices, exercise recommendations, strategies for weight control, goal setting, and responding to lapses. Participants were encouraged to track their food intake and exercise with a provided log book or free apps (Lose It!; MyFitnessPal). The informational content and intervention procedures were identical except for the framing of messages and tasks. The prevention messages emphasized protecting one's health (e.g., failing to regularly exercise can undermine your weight control program and lead to poor health; if you do not vigilantly follow these behaviors, you will not fulfill your weight control goals or protect your health and well-being; not eating fruits and vegetables results in failure to supply the body with the nutrients it needs). The promotion messages emphasized promoting one's health
Weight Change
Participant were weighed by study staff during a baseline measurement session (M = 153.7 lb, SD = 31.6) and then again after 6 months (M = 149.9 lb, SD = 28.9). Weight was self-reported at 3 months (M = 150.7 lb, SD = 29.4).
Time frame: baseline, 3 months, 6 months
meal regularity change
Participants were asked about the number of times in a typical week they 1) ate breakfast, 2) ate lunch, and 3) ate dinner. They responded on a 5-point scale: 0 times, 1-2 times, 3-4 times, 5-6 times, or 7+ times. Mean scores were created for the baseline measurement session (M = 4.00, SD = .73) and for the 3-month measurement session (M = 4.17, SD = .72).
Time frame: baseline, 3 months
fast-food eating change
Participants were asked about the number of times in a typical week they 1) ate food prepared at a fast-food restaurant and 2) purchased food at a convenience store/ gas station. They responded on a 5-point scale: 0 times, 1-2 times, 3-4 times, 5-6 times, or 7+ times. Mean scores were created for the baseline measurement session (M = 1.74, SD = .66) and for the 3-month measurement session (M = 1.63, SD = .53).
Time frame: baseline, 3 months
screen related eating and viewing change
Participants indicated the frequency per week that they 1) ate a meal while watching TV, 2) ate a snack while watching TV, and 3) ate after 8 pm. The participants responded by using a 5-point scale: 0 times, 1-2 time, 3-4 times, 5-6 times, or 7+ times. They also indicated the number of hours on an average day that they 4) use a phone/tablet/computer, 5) watch TV and 6) sit or recline (not including sleeping). Their responses were recorded on a 7-point scale: 0, \<1 hour, 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours, or 5+ hours. Mean scores across the six items were calculated for the baseline measurement session (M = 3.44, SD = .90) and the 3-month measurement session (M = 3.34, SD = .90).
Time frame: baseline, 3 months
dietary modifications change
Dietary modification was measured by asking participants how often they 1) reduced/limited their portions, 2) decreased/limited snacks, 3) decreased/limited sweets, 4) decreased/limited fried food, 5) decreased/limited carbs, 6) decreased/limited fat, 7) ate fruits and vegetables, and 8) planned meals. Participants responded on a 5-point scale: never, rarely, sometimes, often, or very often. Mean scores were calculated for the baseline measurement session (M = 2.96, SD = 0.74) and for the 3-month measurement session (M = 3.32, SD = 0.73).
Time frame: baseline, 3 months
self-monitoring change
For self-monitoring, participants were asked how often they wrote down the calorie content of the foods they ate and the amount and types of exercise they did. Participants responded on a 5-point scale: never, rarely, sometimes, often, or very often. Mean scores were then calculated for the baseline measurement session (M = 1.86, SD = 1.03) and for the 3-month measurement session (M = 2.85, SD = 1.26).
Time frame: baseline, 3 months
self-weighing change
At baseline, participants responded to the question "How often do you weigh yourself?" on a 7-point scale: never, about once a year or less, every couple of months, every month, every week, every day, or more than once a day (M = 3.83, SD = 1.31). At 3 months, they responded to the question "In the past week, how many times did you weigh yourself?" on a 5-point scale: never, 1-2 times, 3-4 times, 5-6 times, or 7 or more times (M = 2.01, SD = 1.02).
Time frame: baseline, 3 months
physical activity change
To measure physical activity, participants were asked how often they 1) planned their exercise, 2) walked for at least 30 minutes at a time, and 3) engaged in other moderate to vigorous exercise. Participants responded on a 5-point scale: never, rarely, sometimes, often, or very often. Mean scores were calculated for the baseline measurement session (M = 3.31, SD = .94) and for the 3-month measurement session (M = 3.55, SD = 1.08).
Time frame: baseline, 3 months
Plan to share: Yes — Will be shared on open science framework.
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Ran from Oct 2015 to primary completion in Mar 2017, 16 months.
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University of North Florida