The Weigh Forward, Financial Incentives for Maintenance of Weight Loss

January 11, 2019 updated by: University of Pennsylvania

A Randomized Trial of Financial Incentives for Maintenance of Weight Loss

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of financial incentives in improving and maintaining weight loss.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The study will evaluate the effectiveness of financial incentives in improving maintenance of weight loss. The investigators propose a 2-arm randomized controlled trial in which 258 participants who lose at least 5 kgs in a weight loss program will be randomized to one of the following: 1) daily weigh-ins and weekly feedback, 2) daily weigh-ins,weekly feedback, and a weekly escalating lottery-based financial incentive.

Study participants will be obese volunteers recruited from a major community-based weight loss program (Weight Watchers), who have lost at least 5kg during the 4-6 months prior to enrolling in the study. Upon enrollment, these participants will have an active online membership with Weight Watchers. Among these participants, the following will be assessed: 1. Assess the effectiveness of escalating lottery rewards, relative to the control group, on maintenance of weight loss over the ensuing 6 months (Phase I); 2.The degree to which weight loss is maintained in the intervention group relative to usual care during the 6 months following the cessation of the interventions (Phase II).

During Phase I, incentives will be provided to some study participants (escalating lottery arm) for the first 6 months and participants will be followed for 6 more months to examine effects following cessation of incentives.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

259

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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
    • Pennsylvania
      • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
        • University of Pennsylvania

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

30 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adults age 30-80
  • BMI between 30 and 45 prior to starting Weight Watchers
  • Have a documented weight loss of at least 5kg in the past 4-6 months before enrolling
  • Stable health
  • Have an online Weight Watchers membership

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Substance abuse
  • Bulimia nervosa or related behaviors
  • Pregnancy or breast feeding
  • Medical contraindications to counseling about diet, physical activity, or weight reduction
  • Unstable mental illness
  • Screen positive for pathological gambling on the basis of the 10 item DSM-IV criteria (excluded if meets 5 or more criteria)
  • Individuals unable to read consent forms or fill out surveys in English

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: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control
Participants will receive weekly tips and weekly feedback for months 1-6 and will be observed without intervention in Phase II (months 7-12). The weekly feedback will pertain to whether or not the participant met his/her goal of weighing at least 6/7 days. The weekly tips will give information and suggestions on how to make it easier to weigh-in most days of the week. No financial incentive other than for the midpoint and end of study surveys will be given.
Experimental: Escalating lottery
Participants will receive weekly tips and weekly feedback for months 1-6 and will be observed without intervention in Phase II (months 7-12). The weekly feedback will pertain to whether or not the participant met his/her goal of weighing at least 6/7 days. The weekly tips will give information and suggestions on how to make it easier to weigh-in most days of the week. In addition to the incentives for midpoint and end of study surveys, participants who meet their weekly goal (weighing in 6 of 7 days) will be eligible for the weekly lottery during the first 6 months of the study. The expected weekly winning for the lottery is $3.55 in week 1 and this expected value will increase by $0.43 per week for each week the participant achieves their goal of weighing 6/7 days. All incentive earnings will be paid out on a monthly basis.
Behavioral: Escalating Lottery
Participants in the lottery arms will receive financial incentives as part of the intervention. See arm descriptions for more detail.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Weight, Baseline and 6 Months
Time Frame: 6 months
Among participants who lost 5 kg or more of baseline weight prior to randomization, assess the effectiveness of escalating lottery rewards, relative to the control group, on maintenance of weight loss after 6 months of intervention
6 months
Change in Weight, 6 Months and 12 Months
Time Frame: 12 months
Among participants who lost 5 kg or more of baseline weight prior to randomization, assess the degree to which weight loss is maintained in the intervention groups relative to usual care during the 6 months following the cessation of the interventions
12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Pennsylvania

Collaborators

Duke University
National Institute on Aging (NIA)

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

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

May 1, 2016

Primary Completion (Actual)

November 13, 2017

Study Completion (Actual)

April 30, 2018

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 31, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 1, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

September 2, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 14, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 11, 2019

Last Verified

August 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 823005
  • 1R01AG045045-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

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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