University Of Pennsylvania Weight Loss Study
| Status: | Completed |
|---|---|
| Conditions: | Obesity Weight Loss |
| Therapuetic Areas: | Endocrinology |
| Healthy: | No |
| Age Range: | 18 - 70 |
| Updated: | 8/24/2017 |
| Start Date: | May 24, 2011 |
| End Date: | July 2016 |
This is a 4-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.
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.
Inclusion Criteria:
- Aged 18 to 70 (inclusive)
- BMI between 30 and 50 (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
We found this trial at
1
site
Univ of Pennsylvania Penn has a long and proud tradition of intellectual rigor and pursuit...
Click here to add this to my saved trials
