Worksite Wellness Randomized Controlled Trial

Worksite Wellness Study

Worksites offer attractive locations for reducing the national prevalence of overweight and obesity. Interventions that are both effective and sustainable for producing long-term changes in health and employee wellness are urgently needed. In an 18-month worksite randomized controlled trial in 12 worksites, this study will test two lifestyle approaches designed to facilitate behavior modification for achieving long-term improvements in health and quality of life. Worksites randomized to the immediate intervention arm will receive the two on-site wellness programs and the randomized control sites will participate in outcomes assessments for the initial 6-month period, after which participants will receive vouchers to participate in the program of their choice. The primary focus of the worksite wellness study is to identify ways to improve health-related quality of life, with a particular focus on a decrease in cardiometabolic risk factors, including weight, improved weight-related wellness, and improved energy level in work and life. The two interventions will be separately tested against the control condition in intention-to-treat models and with a completers analysis.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Quality of Life; Obesity; Overweight
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Human Performance Institute©; Behavioral: The iDiet® (also called Healthy Weight for Living when used as a not-for-profit intervention) with Voucher; Behavioral: The iDiet® (also called Healthy Weight for Living when used as a not-for-profit intervention) with Food

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 554
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02111
      • Tufts University Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 21 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Willingness to sign an informed consent form
2. Willingness to provide release from his/her physician before starting the intervention program-a requirement for each of the 3 wellness programs
3. Willingness to provide email identification (ID) and contact information to the commercial program facilitators to receive program materials and other feedback related to program progress
4. Willingness to complete outcome assessments and self-monitoring in order to track intervention effectiveness
5. BMI ≥ 20 kg/m2 and < 50 kg/m2 at screening, if participant opts into the HPI arm
6. BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 and < 50 kg/m2 at screening, if participant opts into the weight loss arm

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Employees who are temporary contract workers or employees who work remotely most of the time
2. < 21 years of age
3. Participation in a weight loss program or intensive wellbeing program at time of enrollment
4. Pregnant or lactating (per self-reports, now or intended during study)
5. Prior weight loss surgery or a medical complication that would prevent full participation
6. Multiple severe dietary intolerances (e.g. gluten combined with dairy or meat) which would reduce intervention adherence
7. Non-English speaking
8. Individuals who have lost > 15 pounds in the past 6 months
9. Mobility limitations (inhibiting the ability to stand on one's own or get on and off of the scale)
10. Major diseases including active cancer or cardiovascular disease
11. BMI < 25 kg/m2 or ≥ 50 kg/m2 at screening, for those that opt-in to the weight-loss group

12. BMI <20 kg/m2 or ≥ 50 kg/m2 at screening, for those that opt-in to the HPI group

    For those interested in the weight loss intervention, additional exclusion criteria are as follows:

13. Any condition that influences the ability to absorb food (e.g. inflammatory bowel disease or celiac disease)
14. Very active individuals (> 2 hours/day or >14 hours/week of vigorous activity).

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: TREATMENT
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: FACTORIAL
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Human Performance Institute©; These participants will be part of the intervention sites and will receive the Human Performance Institute© intervention for the duration of the study (18 months).	Behavioral: Human Performance Institute©; The Human Performance Institute© (HPI) training workshop is a comprehensive individual development training program that focuses on the concept of energy management. The primary aim of this program is to help individuals develop attitudes, habits, and behaviors that increase their levels of daily energy, life satisfaction, and overall functioning. The course is delivered at an off-site location over 2.5 days, by 3 coaches, in a group format of 25 - 32 participants (with employees from more than one worksite per group).
EXPERIMENTAL: The iDiet® with Voucher; These participants will be part of the intervention sites and will receive the iDiet® with Voucher for the duration of the study (18 months).	Behavioral: The iDiet® (also called Healthy Weight for Living when used as a not-for-profit intervention) with Voucher; The intensive iDiet® group behavioral weight loss program delivered in person at the worksite or by videoconference and with support of the program's web platform. This intervention will be delivered by trained group leaders and will initially include weekly 1-hour support and education meetings of 20 participants/group with a message board for group communication and individual communication with the group leader. Over time support will be provided online rather than in live meetings. The intervention involves a weight loss behavioral program with particular emphasis on hunger reduction and craving control for both weight loss and prevention of weight regain. Half of the participants per worksite receiving the Diet® intervention will be randomized to receive gift cards monthly for the first 6 months to purchase foods at their local grocery store (partial costs).
EXPERIMENTAL: The iDiet® with Food; These participants will be part of the intervention sites and will receive the iDiet® with Food for the duration of the study (18 months).	Behavioral: The iDiet® (also called Healthy Weight for Living when used as a not-for-profit intervention) with Food; The intensive iDiet® group behavioral weight loss program will be delivered in person at the worksite or by videoconference and with support of the program's web platform. This intervention will be delivered by trained group leaders and will initially include weekly 1-hour support and education meetings of 20 participants/group with a message board for group communication and individual communication with the group leader. Over time support will be provided online rather than in live meetings. The intervention involves a weight loss behavioral program with particular emphasis on hunger reduction and craving control for both weight loss and prevention of weight regain. Half of the participants per worksite receiving the iDiet® intervention will be randomized to receive commercial dried food products (partial supply) from Yevo Intl., which are designed to help with weight control and health.
NO_INTERVENTION: Wait-listed control; These participants will be part of the control sites and will participate in outcome assessments for a 6-month period only.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Weight (iDiet/Healthy Weight for Living arms)	Fasted measurements of weight obtained in duplicate to ±0.1 kg at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months using the TANITA TBF-300A.	1.5 years
Quality of Life (HPI arm)	Assessed by the RAND Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months.	1.5 years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Blood pressure	Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) measured to the nearest 1 mm Hg at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months using a validated automated monitor (3 fasted measurements, 5 minutes apart, after 5 minutes of quiet sitting).	1.5 years
Cholesterol	Total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein measured at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months using the Alere Cholestech LDX® System, which requires 40 microliters of blood (fasted lipid panel).	1.5 years
Triglycerides	Triglycerides measured at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months using the Alere Cholestech LDX® System (fasted lipid panel).	1.5 years
Glucose	Fasting blood glucose measured at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months using the Alere Cholestech LDX® System.	1.5 years
Hemoglobin A1c	HbA1c measured at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months using the Siemens DCA Vantage, which requires 1 microliter of blood (fasted measurement).	1.5 years
Eating behavior (Food Preferences)	Assessed by the Food Preferences Questionnaire (self-administered) at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months.	1.5 years
Eating behavior (Three-Factor Eating)	Assessed by the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (self-administered) at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months.	1.5 years
Eating behavior (Food Cravings)	Assessed by the Food Cravings Questionnaire - Trait (self-administered) at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months.	1.5 years
Depression	Assessed by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (self-administered) at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months.	1.5 years
Mood	Assessed by the Profile of Mood States (self-administered) at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months. Variables include anger-hostility, depression-dejection, fatigue-inertia, and vigor-activity.	1.5 years
Physical Activity	Assessed by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (self-administered) at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months.	1.5 years
Well-being	Assessed by the Ryff Purpose in Life scale (self-administered) at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months.	1.5 years
Productivity	Assessed by the Work Productivity and Impairment scale (self-administered) at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months.	1.5 years
Sleep	Assessed by the Medical Outcomes Study Sleep Questionnaire (self-administered) at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months.	1.5 years

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Tufts University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): September 1, 2015
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): March 1, 2018
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): March 1, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 21, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 29, 2015
• First Posted (ESTIMATE): November 1, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): August 27, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 24, 2020
• Last Verified: August 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Obesity; Quality of Life; Overweight; Weight Loss; Energy; Eating Behavior; Hunger; Absenteeism; Cardiometabolic health; Weight Control; Presenteeism; Food Cravings; Worksite Wellness
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Body Weight; Overweight
• Other Study ID Numbers: 11768