Attentive Eating for Weight Loss

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

107 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2017-09-07

Study Completion Date

2018-04-11

Brief Summary

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This trial examined whether a smartphone application designed to encourage a more attentive eating style could help people to lose weight, compared to a control group.

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Detailed Description

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There is evidence that enhancing memory for recent eating and focusing attention on food being consumed influences later energy intake. Studies have shown that attending to food being eaten can reduce food intake. This has since been implemented into a smartphone based 'attentive eating' application. In a feasibility trial of this mobile phone application, adults with overweight or obesity were encouraged to eat attentively by photographing their meals and making satiety ratings after they had eaten. Participants were also required to review what else they had eaten that day before entering their next meal, with an overall aim of encouraging a more attentive eating style. Adherence data and qualitative interviews suggested that the mobile phone app was generally acceptable to participants and easy to use. Participants reported that they felt the application increased their awareness of what they had been eating. There was also an average weight loss of 1.5kg across the 4 week period that participants used the application for. Given that the previous feasibility trial included no control condition, the aim of the current trial was to examine initial proof of concept for effectiveness of an attentive eating smartphone weight loss application.

In the current study the investigators hypothesised that participants randomised to the attentive eating smartphone based condition (experimental condition) would lose significantly more weight than participants randomised to the control condition.

The study is a single centre, parallel, two arm, individually randomised 8 week controlled trial in adults with overweight and obesity in the Merseyside area of England.

Conditions

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Overweight and Obesity

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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attentive eating smartphone app group

Participant's received the intervention 'Attentive eating smartphone application'. This is a smartphone application that encourages a more attentive eating style. Participants also received the 'Standard dietary advice and text tips' intervention. This consists of a standard dietary advice booklet, and weekly dietary advice tips by text message.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Attentive eating smartphone application.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

A smartphone application that encourages a more attentive eating style.

Standard dietary advice and text tips.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Standard dietary advice for weight loss booklet and weekly text tips containing dietary advice.

control group

Participants received the 'Standard dietary advice and text tips' intervention. This consists of a standard dietary advice booklet, and weekly dietary advice tips by text message.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Standard dietary advice and text tips.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Standard dietary advice for weight loss booklet and weekly text tips containing dietary advice.

Interventions

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Attentive eating smartphone application.

A smartphone application that encourages a more attentive eating style.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Standard dietary advice and text tips.

Standard dietary advice for weight loss booklet and weekly text tips containing dietary advice.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* BMI ≥25.0 kg/m2
* Self-report would like to lose weight by changing their dietary behaviour
* 18-65 years
* Fluent English
* Own an Android/Apple smartphone

Exclusion Criteria

* History of eating disorders or food allergies
* Medication that affects appetite
* Pregnant
* Scheduled for weight loss survey during the trial
* Currently on a structured weight loss programme (e.g. Weight Watchers)

Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

65 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Responsible Party

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Eric Robinson

Principle Investigator

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Eric Robinson, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Liverpool

Locations

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University of Liverpool

Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom

Site Status

Countries

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United Kingdom

References

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Cappelleri JC, Bushmakin AG, Gerber RA, Leidy NK, Sexton CC, Lowe MR, Karlsson J. Psychometric analysis of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R21: results from a large diverse sample of obese and non-obese participants. Int J Obes (Lond). 2009 Jun;33(6):611-20. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2009.74. Epub 2009 Apr 28.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

PMID: 19399021 (View on PubMed)

Gormally J, Black S, Daston S, Rardin D. The assessment of binge eating severity among obese persons. Addict Behav. 1982;7(1):47-55. doi: 10.1016/0306-4603(82)90024-7.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

PMID: 7080884 (View on PubMed)

Nijs IM, Franken IH, Muris P. The modified Trait and State Food-Cravings Questionnaires: development and validation of a general index of food craving. Appetite. 2007 Jul;49(1):38-46. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2006.11.001. Epub 2006 Dec 21.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

PMID: 17187897 (View on PubMed)

Tylka TL, Kroon Van Diest AM. The Intuitive Eating Scale-2: item refinement and psychometric evaluation with college women and men. J Couns Psychol. 2013 Jan;60(1):137-53. doi: 10.1037/a0030893.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

PMID: 23356469 (View on PubMed)

Whitelock V, Kersbergen I, Higgs S, Aveyard P, Halford JC, Robinson E. User Experiences of a Smartphone-Based Attentive Eating App and Their Association With Diet and Weight Loss Outcomes: Thematic and Exploratory Analyses From a Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2020 Oct 2;8(10):e16780. doi: 10.2196/16780.

Reference Type DERIVED

PMID: 33006564 (View on PubMed)

Whitelock V, Kersbergen I, Higgs S, Aveyard P, Halford JCG, Robinson E. A smartphone based attentive eating intervention for energy intake and weight loss: results from a randomised controlled trial. BMC Public Health. 2019 May 21;19(1):611. doi: 10.1186/s12889-019-6923-x.

Reference Type DERIVED

PMID: 31113400 (View on PubMed)

Study Documents

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Document Type: Study Protocol

The study protocol was pre-registered prior to starting recruitment on the Open Science Framework and is available via this link. IPD underlying publications will also be available here.

View Document