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Two-year outcomes of an adjunctive telephone coaching and electronic contact intervention for adolescent weight-loss maintenance: the Loozit randomized controlled trial

Abstract

This paper reports the final 24-month outcomes of a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effect of additional therapeutic contact (ATC) as an adjunct to a community-based weight-management program for overweight and obese 13–16-year-olds. ATC involved telephone coaching or short-message-service and/or email communication once per fortnight. Adolescents were randomized to receive the Loozit group program—a two-phase behavioral lifestyle intervention with (n=73), or without (n=78), ATC in Phase 2. Adolescents/parents separately attended seven weekly group sessions (Phase 1), followed by quarterly adolescent sessions (Phase 2). Assessor-blinded, 24-month changes in anthropometry and metabolic health included primary outcomes body mass index (BMI) z-score and waist:height ratio (WHtR). Secondary outcomes were self-reported psychosocial and lifestyle changes. By 24 months, 17 adolescents had formally withdrawn. Relative to the Loozit program alone, ATC largely had no impact on outcomes. Secondary pre-post assessment of the Loozit group program showed mean (95% CI) reductions in BMI z-score (−0.13 (−0.20, −0.06)) and WHtR (−0.02 (−0.03, −0.01)) in both arms, with several metabolic and psychosocial improvements. Adjunctive ATC did not provide further benefits to the Loozit group program. We recommend that further work is needed to optimize technological support for adolescents in weight-loss maintenance. Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry Number ACTRNO12606000175572.

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Acknowledgements

The Loozit RCT was funded by a University of Sydney Research & Development Grant (2006); a bequest of the Estate of the late RT Hall (2006–08); Macquarie Bank Foundation (2006–08); Financial Markets Foundation for Children (2007–08); and the Heart Foundation of Australia Grant-in-Aid (2009–10). VAS was supported by an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Biomedical Postgraduate Scholarship (#505009). The funding bodies did not have any input into the design and conduct of the study; the collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; and the preparation, review or approval of this manuscript. We would like to thank the participating adolescents and their parents/carers, as well as The Children′s Hospital at Westmead (CHW) Public Relations Department and local schools for assisting with recruitment. We thank Dr Jennifer Peat and Dr Federica Barzi of the Clinical Epidemiology Unit, CHW, for providing statistical advice. We would also like to thank Anthea Lee, Kate Stevenson, Kristy McGregor, Michele Casey, Susie Burrell, Kerryn Chisholm, Genevieve Dwyer, and Jessica Finlay for their contributions to the study.

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Nguyen, B., Shrewsbury, V., O'Connor, J. et al. Two-year outcomes of an adjunctive telephone coaching and electronic contact intervention for adolescent weight-loss maintenance: the Loozit randomized controlled trial. Int J Obes 37, 468–472 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2012.74

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