NCT02709642

Brigham and Women's Healthy Weight Study

Brigham and Women's Healthy Weight Study: Randomized Controlled Trial of a Financial Incentive for Weight Maintenance

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 42 (actual)
• Sponsor: Harvard Pilgrim Health Care · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine if a financial deposit contract is a successful method of helping people to maintain their weight loss. A deposit contract is an agreement in which participants put their own money at risk, with the goal of "earning" it back by achieving a goal, in this case maintaining prior weight loss. The study will also evaluate the interventions using survey research to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the interventions.

Detailed description

Interested participants who can verify \>10lb weight-loss over the last year and a half will be randomly assigned to either the control group, in which they will be asked to attend weekly weigh-ins at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) over the course of a year, or to the deposit contract intervention group. Both the control group and the deposit contract group will complete the weekly weigh-ins for one year. The deposit contract group will additionally have a financial component: these participants will be asked to make a deposit of at least $100 each 10-week period over the course of one year (50 weeks), and can recoup this amount as detailed above. All participants will take baseline and end-of-study surveys. During an enrollment meeting, study staff will request via an authorization form that participants allow approved members of the research staff to examine their electronic medical record for the duration of the study if they receive their care at a BWH-affiliated practice. This will confirm their \>10lb weight loss. At the end of every 10-week period, DC participants will receive an email with how much money they recouped. Participants who did not recoup the full amount they deposited must bring in a check to the following weigh-in to cover the difference so that participants have at least $100 deposited for the following 10-week period. Additionally, participants will have the option to use their initial study baseline weight, or be re-weighed for a new baseline weight for the following 10-week period, for which they will then use as their target weight. They will also have the option to increase or decrease their deposit for the upcoming 10-week period as needed. Each subject may skip non-consecutive weigh-ins without losing their weekly contribution. However, if subjects skip two or more consecutive weekly weigh-ins, participants may only recoup up to one of those skipped weigh-ins if they are successful in their weight management in the week that they return for a weigh-in. Skipped weigh-ins will not roll over into a new 10-week period.

Conditions

• Obesity

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Deposit Contract	A deposit contract (DC) is an agreement in which study participants puts their own money at risk, with the goal of "earning" it back by achieving a goal, in this case maintaining prior weight loss. If DC participants successfully maintain their weight, they get their money back. If they are not successful, they lose their money. For each 10 week period for one year, DC participants will make a deposit of at least $100 but will be allowed to increase their contribution if they would prefer.

Timeline

• Start date: 2016-06-01
• Primary completion: 2018-07-01
• Completion: 2020-04-30
• First posted: 2016-03-16
• Last updated: 2020-07-30

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States