A Facebook-based Weight Loss Programme for Obese Adults in Hong Kong

NCT ID: NCT02616237

Last Updated: 2016-08-24

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 59 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2014-04-30

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility and efficacy of a 6-month weight loss intervention program for obese working adults through a popular social networking site - Facebook.

Detailed Description

Obese individuals often are at higher risk for developing non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The regular physical activity, healthy diet and social support have been shown to be beneficial for weight loss.

This is a two-arm parallel design randomized controlled trial for 6 months. Participants who completed the baseline assessment will be randomly allocated, after stratified by gender, to either a control group or Facebook-based intervention group. The control group will receive information on healthy eating, physical activity, obesity and cancer via three government printed health pamphlets. In addition to the government health pamphlets, the intervention group will receive a programme delivered through Facebook.

The interventions include participation in a private research group on Facebook for health education, self monitoring and social support. Participants will receive 12 weekly lessons related to nutrition, physical activity, Chinese food therapy, acupressure, weight loss. A registered nutritionist and a registered Chinese medicine practitioner will join the Facebook group as health partners. Both of them are also registered nurses.

Data collection will be carried out at baseline, 3 months and 6 months. Each time, both groups will complete online questionnaires and attend in-person anthropometric measurements

Conditions

Obesity

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Intervention Group

Lifestyle Intervention: The interventions include participation in a private research group on Facebook for health education, self monitoring and social support. Participants will receive 12 weekly lessons related to nutrition, physical activity, Chinese food therapy, acupressure, weight loss. A registered nutritionist and a registered Chinese medicine practitioner will join the Facebook group as health partners. Both of them are also registered nurses.

Besides the Facebook contents, the participants will also receive government printed health information on healthy eating, physical activity, obesity and cancers.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Lifestyle Intervention

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

East-meets-West Lifestyle Intervention elements include nutrition and exercise from the Western perspective, food therapy and acupressure from the Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, self-monitoring, and motivational videos of successful stories from working colleagues. The group participants in the Facebook are encouraged to post their health behaviors and questions, self-monitor, pledge for weight loss, seek social support and interact with health partners and other participants.

Control Group

The participants randomized into the Control Group will only receive government printed health information on healthy eating, physical activity, obesity and cancers.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Lifestyle Intervention

East-meets-West Lifestyle Intervention elements include nutrition and exercise from the Western perspective, food therapy and acupressure from the Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, self-monitoring, and motivational videos of successful stories from working colleagues. The group participants in the Facebook are encouraged to post their health behaviors and questions, self-monitor, pledge for weight loss, seek social support and interact with health partners and other participants.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• university full-time employees;
• age 18 to 60 years,
• BMI of 25 to 40 kg/m2,
• have access to Internet and Facebook;
• able to communicate in both English and Chinese at F.5 secondary school level or above.
• agree to communicate with Internet, email, Facebook group and respect privacy.

Exclusion Criteria

• Smoker;
• an unstable medical or mental status;
• history of myocardial infarction or stroke, or cancer in the past 5 years;
• orthopedic or joint problems that would prohibit exercise;
• in treatment for alcohol or drug dependency;
• an eating disorder;
• pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning on becoming pregnant within the next 6 months;
• use of medication that might affect body weight;
• a recent weight loss of more than 4.5 kg in the previous 6 months;
• currently participating in a weight loss program;
• organic obesity;
• unable to attend assessments or increase physical activity.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 60 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

LAI Kam Wa

Senior Manager

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

WanChaw SHAE

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Locations

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Hong Kong, , Hong Kong

Countries

Hong Kong

Other Identifiers

20131213002

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id