Obesity Treatment Enhanced With Working Memory Training (Focus)

This study will examine the effects of providing subjects who have attention deficits, with or without a formal diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), with Working Memory computerized training and explore whether this training is a feasible way to help them better engage in a weight loss treatment program, thereby enhancing weight loss results. Half of the participants will receive five weeks of online adaptive WM training concurrently while attending an in-person 24-week behavioral weight management program and half will receive five weeks of a non-adaptive form of cognitive training concurrently while attending a 24-week behavioral weight management program in person.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Weight Loss; ADHD
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Adaptive Working Memory Training; Behavioral: Non-adaptive cognitive training

Detailed Description

Populations with ADHD or attention issues tend to have more weight loss attempts, struggle more with losing weight, and drop out of treatment more frequently than those without attention difficulties. Adaptive working memory training has been used to strengthen working memory and to mediate the symptoms associated with ADHD. The adaptive training becomes progressively more challenging as participants master each level of the training, while non-adaptive training remains at the same level throughout. Both groups will attend 24 weekly, in-person weight management classes on the University of Vermont Campus. Both groups will do cognitive training on their own home computers five days a week for 30-40 minutes for five weeks concurrently while engaged in the weight loss program.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 37
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Vermont
    • Burlington, Vermont, United States, 05405
      • Behavioral Weight Management Program/Univ of Vermont

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Must score 4 or higher on the ASRS v. 1.1
• Must live within 45 minutes driving distance from UVM campus
• Must be able to exercise
• Must have a computer with internet access and ability to utilize flash
• Must be 18 or older

Exclusion Criteria:

• Health issues that preclude exercise
• use of medications that interfere with the ability to lose weight
• vacation longer than two weeks
• current participation in another weight loss program
• reside more than 45 minutes from UVM campus in Burlington
• no internet access, no home computer, or computer cannot use flash

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Adaptive Working Memory Training; The experimental group will receive working memory training through a commercial computerized program: five weeks of adaptive working memory training concurrently with a behavioral weight loss program. Adaptive working memory training becomes progressively more challenging depending on an individual's performance on a given task. They will attend weekly classes of a behavioral weight loss program.	Behavioral: Adaptive Working Memory Training; Participants will train for 30-40 minutes per day, five days per week at home for 5 weeks using an adaptive cognitive training program which becomes increasingly challenging as the participant masters each level. Behavioral classes will teach the principles of weight management and exercise.
Placebo Comparator: Non-adaptive Working Memory Training; The control group will receive five weeks of non-adaptive (placebo) cognitive training concurrent with the identical behavioral weight loss program as in the experimental group. Non-adaptive cognitive training remains at a constant level.	Behavioral: Non-adaptive cognitive training; Participants will train for 30-40 minutes per day, five days per week at home for 5 weeks using a non-adaptive cognitive training program. Behavioral classes will teach the principles of weight management and exercise.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Weight	Participants weight at baseline will be compared to their weight at 24 weeks at the completion of the study.	24 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Vermont
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Doris Ogden, MS, University of Vermont

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: October 1, 2015
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 1, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): May 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 18, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 18, 2015
• First Posted (Estimate): August 20, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): October 25, 2016
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 24, 2016
• Last Verified: October 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Working Memory Training, Weight Loss,
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Body Weight; Body Weight Changes; Weight Loss
• Other Study ID Numbers: CHRBBS: 15-647

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: Undecided