Pounds Off Digitally (POD): The Use of Podcasting and Mobile Media to Promote Weight Loss (POD)

June 2, 2011 updated by: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

The Use of Podcasting and Mobile Media to Promote Weight Loss and Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake Among Overweight Adults

Overweight and obesity play a role in both cancer incidence and survival rates. Many people have found attending weight loss support groups to be time-intensive. Past research has shown electronic media, particularly the Web, to be effective in producing weight loss. The Web, however, lacks portability, which prevents people from accessing the information when it is convenient for them. Providing weight loss information via podcasting (audio files that may be listened to on portable audio players) may allow people to receive weight loss tips anywhere. A previous research study showed that podcasts emphasizing healthy eating and exercise can help people lose weight. This study was short-term and did not include additional social support. The purpose of this research project is to assess the effectiveness of a weight loss intervention delivered through podcasts as compared to the same podcast with added mobile media such as self-monitoring software (such as a pedometer) and support delivered via a social networking site. For this research study, the investigators will conduct a 6-month study in 104 overweight adults to determine if a podcast plus mobile media support leads to greater weight loss than a podcast alone.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

96

Phase

  • Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • North Carolina
      • Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, 27599
        • UNC-Chapel Hill Weight Research Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 60 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • be between the ages of 18-60 years old
  • be a non-smoker
  • live in the Chapel Hill, NC area
  • be able to attend monitoring visits at baseline, 3-months, and 6-months
  • have access to the Internet and a computer
  • have access to an Internet-capable mobile device (such as an iPhone, iPod Touch, or Blackberry) and an MP3 player (this may be the same device)
  • have access to a scale for self-monitoring weight
  • be willing to be randomized to either group
  • be free of psychiatric diseases, drug or alcohol dependency, or uncontrolled thyroid conditions
  • be free of major health conditions, such as heart conditions, diabetes, and past incidence of stroke
  • have MD consent for participation if currently on blood pressure medications, have issues with dizziness, or have bone or joint issues.
  • able to prepare all their own meals (i.e. not living on-campus)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • should not be pregnant, anticipating on becoming pregnant in the next 7 months, or currently breastfeeding
  • be free of an eating disorder as screened by the Eating disorder Screen for Primary care [ESP].
  • no current participation in a weight loss program or taking weight loss medications (although participants may be trying to lose weight on their own)
  • have not participated in previous podcasting weight loss research

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Podcasting + mobile media
Behavioral: Podcasting + mobile media
Use of a weight loss podcast designed with health behavior theory
Active Comparator: Podcasting
Behavioral: Podcasting + mobile media
Use of a weight loss podcast designed with health behavior theory

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Weight loss
Time Frame: 6 months
6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Brie Turner-McGrievy, PhD, MS, RD, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

June 1, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

February 1, 2011

Study Completion (Actual)

February 1, 2011

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 4, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 7, 2010

First Posted (Estimate)

June 8, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

June 6, 2011

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 2, 2011

Last Verified

June 1, 2011

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 10-0930

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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