NCT00123435

Veterans Walk for Health Study

Does Step Count Feedback Enhance Counseling for Weight Loss?

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 254 (actual)
• Sponsor: US Department of Veterans Affairs · Federal
• Sex: Male
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The objective of this study is to determine whether a tailored web-based system for providing feedback on walking step-counts, in combination with regular nutrition counseling, can improve weight loss over nutrition counseling alone in patients with heart disease.

Detailed description

Objective: This proposal was developed at the request of, and with input from, the Research Council of the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA's) National Advisory Board for Nutrition and Food Services, in an effort to address obesity, a major health problem for VA patients. The prevalence of obesity in the United States has been increasing at an alarming rate. As a result, obesity related chronic diseases such as diabetes are also increasing in prevalence. While interventions that focus only on dietary changes can result in significant weight loss, the lost weight is often rapidly regained. Physical activity, when added to a dietary weight loss program, not only increases the initial weight loss but it also can play a critical role in preventing weight regain. The primary objective of the proposed study is to test the efficacy of a low-cost, innovative weight loss program targeting lifestyle physical activity and diet in individuals with cardiovascular risk factors or disease. Study Design and Methods: In this 3 year multi-site randomized controlled trial, the investigators will recruit overweight and obese veterans with cardiovascular disease risk factors or known cardiovascular disease who have been referred for nutritional counseling or who have responded to advertisements for the study. Research participants will be randomized to one of three study groups: * nutritional counseling alone; * nutritional counseling with simple pedometer feedback; and * nutritional counseling, with both simple pedometer and enhanced pedometer (web-based) feedback. Each participant will have 5 visits with a dietitian in the course of 6 months. Participants randomized to receive pedometer feedback will review objectively monitored step-count data during their nutritional counseling sessions and will use the data to set new step-count goals. The primary outcome, weight loss, will be assessed at the sixth and final session at the end of the 6-month intervention. Enhanced pedometers that can monitor step-counts throughout the day and upload time stamped step count data to a central computer will be used to monitor adherence to a walking program.

Conditions

• Cardiovascular Diseases
• Diabetes Mellitus
• Hyperlipidemia
• Hypertension
• Obesity

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Nutritional counseling	The nutritional counseling is based on the six-session Medical Nutrition Therapy Protocol for Weight Management published by the American Dietetics Association. The categories include the following: a) Meal planning (food, hydration, fiber, alcohol), b) Food label reading, c) Recipe modification, d) Food preparation, e) Dining out and f) Physical activity.
BEHAVIORAL	Walking program	As part of the discussion of physical activity, participants in the control group will be encouraged to walk and dietitians will discuss goal setting using timed walks instead of total daily step-counts at each of the control group sessions. As a general guideline, participants will be encouraged to increase their daily walking target by 5-10 minutes (control group with time goals) or to increase their average daily step counts by 10-25% (pedometer group with step count goals) following each of the nutritional counseling sessions.
BEHAVIORAL	Nutritional counseling	The nutritional counseling is based on the six-session Medical Nutrition Therapy Protocol for Weight Management published by the American Dietetics Association. The categories include the following: a) Meal planning (food, hydration, fiber, alcohol), b) Food label reading, c) Recipe modification, d) Food preparation, e) Dining out and f) Physical activity.
BEHAVIORAL	Walking program	As part of the discussion of physical activity, participants in the control group will be encouraged to walk and dietitians will discuss goal setting using timed walks instead of total daily step-counts at each of the control group sessions. As a general guideline, participants will be encouraged to increase their daily walking target by 5-10 minutes (control group with time goals) or to increase their average daily step counts by 10-25% (pedometer group with step count goals) following each of the nutritional counseling sessions.
DEVICE	Simple pedometer	Device to be worn during waking hours to give an objective measure of steps taken each day.
BEHAVIORAL	Nutritional counseling	The nutritional counseling is based on the six-session Medical Nutrition Therapy Protocol for Weight Management published by the American Dietetics Association. The categories include the following: a) Meal planning (food, hydration, fiber, alcohol), b) Food label reading, c) Recipe modification, d) Food preparation, e) Dining out and f) Physical activity.
BEHAVIORAL	Walking program	As part of the discussion of physical activity, participants in the control group will be encouraged to walk and dietitians will discuss goal setting using timed walks instead of total daily step-counts at each of the control group sessions. As a general guideline, participants will be encouraged to increase their daily walking target by 5-10 minutes (control group with time goals) or to increase their average daily step counts by 10-25% (pedometer group with step count goals) following each of the nutritional counseling sessions.
DEVICE	Simple pedometer	Device to be worn during waking hours to give an objective measure of steps taken each day.
DEVICE	Enhanced pedometer	Simple pedometer with the addition of web-based feedback.

Timeline

• Start date: 2005-07-01
• Primary completion: 2007-11-01
• Completion: 2009-06-01
• First posted: 2005-07-22
• Last updated: 2015-08-21

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States