A Study of a Values-Based Intervention to Promote Weight Loss

Clarifying the Role of Values in Weight Control: A Pilot Study of a Values-Based Intervention to Promote Weight Loss

More than 160 million American adults are overweight or obese. Existing weight loss interventions from self-help to gold standard behavioral treatments, while often effective, do not sufficiently maintain motivation to adhere to dietary goals in the face of powerful biological and environmental influences to consume highly palatable foods. Clarification and awareness of values, a staple of acceptance-based treatments drawn from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, are thought to enhance autonomous motivation to engage in behaviors consistent with one's personal life values (e.g., health) in the presence of countervailing forces (e.g., hunger, deprivation). However, the independent efficacy of values clarification and awareness in facilitating weight control has never been tested. This pilot study seeks to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of a series of three weight loss workshops (based off the gold standard) infused with values clarification and awareness techniques to promote weight control. Participants will be asked to follow a reduced-calorie dietary prescription while holding their values in mind in moments of dietary decision-making over the course of one month. The primary aims of this study are to: 1) develop the series of values-infused workshops, using participant feedback to iterate and improve the treatment manual; and 2) evaluate treatment acceptability. Secondary aims are: 1) to evaluate whether clinically meaningful changes in measures of values clarification and values awareness occur; 2) to evaluate whether the intervention will lead participants to experience clinically meaningful changes in values-congruent weight control behaviors; 3) to evaluate whether the intervention will lead participants to experience clinically meaningful changes in weight; and 4) to evaluate theorized mechanisms of action in the intervention.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Obesity; Weight Loss
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Values-Based Behavioral Treatment

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 19
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

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

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 70 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• BMI of 25-55 kg/m2
• 18-70 years of age
• Have a desire to lose weight
• Own a smartphone
• Live in the Philadelphia area
• Provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Any medical or psychiatric conditions (e.g., eating disorder, diabetes) that may pose a risk to the participant during the intervention, cause a change in weight or appetite, or interfere with ability to adhere to diet recommendations
• Recent change in medication dosage that could affect weight or appetite
• Current or planned pregnancy in the next month
• Planned move out of the Philadelphia area in the next month
• History of bariatric surgery
• Weight loss of ≥5% in the last six months
• Concurrent behavioral therapy targeting weight control

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Values-Based Behavioral Treatment	Behavioral: Values-Based Behavioral Treatment; The values-based behavioral treatment will consist of a series of three, once-weekly weight loss workshops infused with techniques to elicit values clarification and awareness in moments of dietary decision-making, and to enhance autonomous motivation for behavior change.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Participant acceptability and satisfaction with the intervention	Participant acceptability and satisfaction with the intervention will be assessed using an idiosyncratic self-report Acceptability Questionnaire, developed for the present study. Questions include items assessing how satisfied participants were with the intervention, how helpful they found it, and how likely they would be to recommend it to others. Scores range from 1 to 5 for each item, where higher values represent greater satisfaction and acceptability.	Measured at post-treatment (1 month).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Values clarity	Values clarity will be measured with the Values Clarity and Awareness Interview (VCAI), an unstructured clinical interview adapted from a previous self-report measure of values clarity constructed by Forman and colleagues. The VCAI was chosen because it is the only existing measure of values clarity. Scores range from 0 to 3 for each value described, where higher values represent greater values clarity. Scores for each value described are then averaged to compute an overall clarity score.	Measured at baseline and post-treatment (1 month) assessments.
Values awareness	Values awareness will be measured with the Values Clarity and Awareness Interview (VCAI), an unstructured clinical interview adapted from a previous self-report measure of values clarity constructed by Forman and colleagues. The VCAI was chosen because it is the only existing measure of values awareness. Scores range from 0 to 4, where higher values represent greater values awareness.	Measured at baseline and post-treatment (1 month) assessments.
Values-congruent weight control behavior	The consistency with which individuals enact weight control behaviors in accordance with their values will be measured using an adapted Valued Living Questionnaire (VLQ) that assesses valued living as it relates to weight control in particular. Scores range from 1-10 for each of 10 valued domains of living, where higher scores represent greater personal importance and consistency with one's values.	Measured at baseline and post-treatment (1 month) assessments.
Weight	Weight will be measured in street clothes without shoes using a lab-grade, standardized Seca® scale (accurate to 0.1 kg).	Measured at baseline, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, and post-treatment (1 month) assessment.
Autonomous motivation	Autonomous motivation to enact health behaviors will be measured using the Autonomous Motivation subscale of an adapted Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire (TSRQ) for weight loss. Scores range from 1-7, where higher scores represent greater autonomous motivation.	Measured at baseline and post-treatment (1 month) assessments.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Drexel University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Diane H Dallal, B.A., Drexel University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 29, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 13, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): September 13, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 19, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 17, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): June 19, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 24, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 22, 2019
• Last Verified: October 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Obesity; Acceptance and Commitment Therapy; Weight Loss; Behavioral treatment; Values; Autonomous motivation; Values-based behavior change
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Body Weight Changes; Weight Loss; Body Weight
• Other Study ID Numbers: DrexelUniversity

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