Weight Watchers and Families

February 1, 2017 updated by: University of Connecticut

Ripple Effect of a Nationally Available Weight Loss Program on Untreated Family Members

Research suggests that when one spouse loses weight, the other spouse does too. This study will examine whether a ripple effect is observed in untreated spouses and children of individuals participating in a nationally available weight loss program. Participants will be randomly assigned to either receive Weight Watchers immediately or at the end of a 6-month waiting period. Participants and untreated spouses (and any children in the home) will be assessed at baseline, 3, and 6 months.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

260

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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

25 years to 70 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • body mass index between 27.0-40.0 kg/m2
  • married or living with a significant other who had a BMI > 25 kg/m2

Exclusion Criteria:

  • currently in a weight loss program, dieting, or taking medications that might affect weight
  • had participated in a weight loss program in the past year
  • lost > 5% of their body weight in the past 6 months
  • were planning to or had undergone weight loss surgery
  • had any orthopedic limitations or contraindications to physical activity
  • were pregnant, lactating, or less than 6 months postpartum, or were planning to become pregnant in the next year
  • reported uncontrolled hypertension, history of coronary heart disease, stroke, or peripheral arterial disease; reported chronic gastrointestinal disease
  • endorsed having hepatitis B or C, cirrhosis, or HIV
  • had a history of cancer within the past 5 years
  • reported a significant psychiatric illness that might interfere with completion of the study.

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: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention
Access to Weight Watchers in-person meetings and online tools.
Behavioral: Weight Watchers
Access to Weight Watchers in-person meetings and online tools
Other: Self-Guided Control Group
Received handout with basic weight management advice.
Other: Self guided handout
Written handout with basic weight management strategies

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Weight
Time Frame: 0, 3, and 6 months
body weight measured in kg
0, 3, and 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Connecticut

Collaborators

Weight Watchers International

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 (Actual)

January 2, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

October 30, 2015

Study Completion (Actual)

October 30, 2015

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 31, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 1, 2017

First Posted (Estimate)

February 3, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

February 3, 2017

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 1, 2017

Last Verified

February 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • H14-260

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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