CClinicalTrials.gg
Enrolling by invitationNCT07404189Updated Sep 28, 2026

Augmenting Primary Care-Based Obesity Management With the Nutu™ Digital Health Platform

An interventional study of FLOW Program and Nutu™ Offer in Obesity & Overweight and Cardiovascular Risk Factors, sponsored by University of Alabama at Birmingham. Enrolling by invitation at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-28.

Sponsored by University of Alabama at Birmingham · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
300
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This study evaluates the acceptability and clinical effectiveness of integrating the Nutu™ digital health platform into a comprehensive primary care-based behavioral obesity treatment program using a Zelen randomized controlled trial design.

Read the detailed description

This pragmatic randomized clinical trial is conducted within the established FLOW program, a 12-month multidisciplinary behavioral obesity treatment aligned with USPSTF recommendations. Patients initiating FLOW are randomized to standard care or FLOW augmented with an offer of Nutu™, an AI-powered digital health platform providing behavioral support and self-monitoring tools. Outcomes are collected quarterly over 12 months using routinely collected clinical data.

02

Conditions studied

  • Obesity & Overweight
  • Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Keywords

  • intensive behavioral therapy
  • digital health coaching
  • weight management
03

Who can participate

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

Inclusion criteria

  • All patients enrolled in the FLOW clinical program are eligible.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Not a patient of the FLOW clinical program at UAB.
04

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
300 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Standard FLOW Program

    Participants receive the standard 12-month FLOW program including nutrition counseling, physician visits, and behavioral health support.

    Behavioral: FLOW Program

  • Experimental
    FLOW + Nutu™ Offer

    Participants receive standard FLOW care and are offered access to the Nutu™ digital health platform, which may be accepted or declined.

    Behavioral: FLOW Program · Behavioral: Nutu™ Offer

Interventions

  • BehavioralFLOW Program

    Participants receive the 12-month FLOW program including nutrition counseling, physician visits, and behavioral health support.

  • BehavioralNutu™ Offer

    FLOW patients will receive an offer to add the Nutu™ digital health platform to their FLOW treatment plan, which can be accepted or declined. Nutu™ includes features such as AI-powered digital health coaching and food/exercise tracking.

05

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Body Weight

    Difference in body weight change between groups

    Time frame: Baseline to 12 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Nutu™ Acceptance

    Percentage of patients who accept Nutu™ when offered

    Time frame: Baseline

  2. Nutu™ Engagement

    Number of patient log-ins to the Nutu™ app among those accepting Nutu™

    Time frame: Baseline through 12 months

Other outcomes

  1. Waist Circumference

    Difference in waist circumference change between groups

    Time frame: Baseline to 12 months

  2. Body Fat Percentage

    Difference in body fat percentage change between groups

    Time frame: Baseline to 12 months

  3. Systolic Blood Pressure

    Difference in change in systolic blood pressure between groups

    Time frame: Baseline to 12 months

  4. Diastolic Blood Pressure

    Difference in change in diastolic blood pressure between groups

    Time frame: Baseline to 12 months

  5. LDL Cholesterol

    Difference in change in LDL Cholesterol between groups

    Time frame: Baseline to 12 months

  6. Total Cholesterol

    Difference in change in total cholesterol between groups

    Time frame: Baseline to 12 months

  7. Vertical Jump Height

    Difference in change in vertical jump height between groups

    Time frame: Baseline to 12 months

  8. Grip Strength

    Difference in change in hand grip strength between groups

    Time frame: Baseline to 12 months

  9. Mindfulness

    Short-Form Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire. Difference in change in mindfulness between groups. Scores range from 20 to 100 with higher scores indicating greater mindfulness (beneficial outcome).

    Time frame: Baseline to 12 months

  10. Resilience

    Brief Resilience Scale. Difference in change in resilience between groups. Values range from 1 to 5 with 1.00 - 2.99 indicating low resilience, 3.00 - 4.30 indicating normal/average resilience, and 4.31 - 5.00 indicating high resilience.

    Time frame: Baseline to 12 months

  11. Quality of Life

    Quality of Life Scale. Difference in change in quality of life between groups. Scores range from 16 to 112 with higher scores indicating a higher, better perceived quality of life.

    Time frame: Baseline to 12 months

  12. Happiness

    Oxford Happiness Scale. Difference in changes in happiness between groups

    Time frame: Baseline to 12 months

  13. Hemoglobin A1c

    Difference in change in hemoglobin A1c between groups

    Time frame: Baseline to 12 months

  14. HDL Cholesterol

    Difference in change in HDL cholesterol between groups

    Time frame: Baseline to 12 months

  15. Triglycerides

    Difference in change in triglycerides between groups

    Time frame: Baseline to 12 months

06

Study locations

1 site
  • UAB Hospital - Highlands
    Birmingham, Alabama 35205, United States
07

References and documents

Publications

  • Simon GE, Shortreed SM, DeBar LL. Zelen design clinical trials: why, when, and how. Trials. 2021 Aug 17;22(1):541. doi: 10.1186/s13063-021-05517-w. PubMed 34404466 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes — A fully de-identified dataset will be shared at the time of publication of the primary results of this trial. The dataset will enable other investigators to replicate the primary study analysis.

Supporting information: Sap, Analytic code

08

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07404189
Lead sponsor
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Collaborators
Willow Laboratories, Inc.
Responsible party
Drew Sayer (Assistant Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham) — Principal investigator
First posted
Feb 11, 2026
Start date
Aug 24, 2026
Primary completion
Jun 2028 (estimated)
Completion
Jun 2028 (estimated)
Last update
Sep 28, 2026

Study contacts

Drew Sayer, PhD
principal investigator · University of Alabama at Birmingham

Oversight

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

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