Personalizing Financial Incentives
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of providing personalized incentives for dietary self-monitoring and/or interim weight loss to people enrolled in a weight-loss program
Condition
- Obesity & Overweight
Eligibility
- Eligible Ages
- Over 18 Years
- Eligible Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- Willing to attend virtual baseline and follow-up data collection visits 2. At least 18 years of age 3. Verified obesity as defined as a BMI ≥30 kg/m2 4. Agree to attend 13 biweekly group classes (virtual) delivered by a registered dietitian 5. Agree to review study materials between classes 6. Regular access to an unshared smart phone 7. Reliable access to internet 8. Able to speak and read English 9. Desire to lose weight 10. Able to connect to a video conference call using a smartphone, tablet or computer with a webcam and microphone 11. Ability to download and use Fitbit app daily 12. Have or be willing to create a Gmail address 13. Physical ability to stand on a scale without support
Exclusion Criteria
- Weight loss of at least 10lbs in the month prior to screening 2. Weight > 380lbs 3. Currently enrolled or enrolled in the previous month in a clinical, research, or community program focusing on lifestyle change that could affect weight 4. New user of weight loss medication 5. Pregnant, lactating or planning on becoming pregnant during the study 6. History of bariatric procedure or planning to have bariatric procedure in the study timeframe 7. Residing in a nursing home, skilled nursing facility or assisted living facility 8. Impaired hearing 9. Significant dementia, drug or alcohol abuse, or unstable psychiatric illness (e.g., schizophrenia, psychosis) 10. Current treatment for cancer or being treated for cancer (besides basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell) in the last 6 months 11. Use of insulin, sulfonylureas, or meglitinides due to increased risk for hypoglycemia 12. Diuretic medication doses higher than hydrochlorothiazide or chlorthalidone 25 mg daily, furosemide 40 mg daily, torsemide 20 mg daily, bumetanide 1 mg daily, or any use of metolazone; use of potassium-sparing diuretics is acceptable 13. Unstable heart disease in the 6 months prior to screening 14. Chronic kidney disease at stage 4 or higher 15. Exertional chest pain 16. Pain, fainting, or other conditions that prohibit mild/moderate exercise 17. History of ascites requiring paracentesis 18. Inducing vomiting to prevent weight gain or counteract the effects of eating an average of 1 time per week or more in the past 3 months* 19. Not suitable for study participation due to other reasons at the discretion of the investigators
Study Design
- Phase
- N/A
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- N/A
- Intervention Model
- Single Group Assignment
- Primary Purpose
- Treatment
- Masking
- None (Open Label)
Arm Groups
| Arm | Description | Assigned Intervention |
|---|---|---|
|
Experimental Personalized incentives |
Participants may receive financial incentives for weight loss if their performance suggests they respond to financial incentives. |
|
Recruiting Locations
University of Utah
Salt Lake City 5780993, Utah 5549030 84108
Salt Lake City 5780993, Utah 5549030 84108
More Details
- Status
- Recruiting
- Sponsor
- University of Utah
Detailed Description
In this study, community outpatients will participate in a clinician-facilitated, group-based behavioral weight-loss program for 24 weeks. Dietary self-monitoring data (input by patients via a mobile phone dietary application) and weight data (input by patients via cellular scale) will be collected by a software platform. A reinforcement learning algorithm will use data collected during the trial to predict which participants will respond to a financial incentive. Incentives will be provided to participants predicted to respond, and they will be notified of incentives via text messaging.