Effectiveness Trial of a Dissonance-Based Obesity Prevention Program (Project Health)
Obesity, Weight Gain, Eating Disorders
About this trial
This is an interventional prevention trial for Obesity focused on measuring Obesity, Weight Gain, Dissonance, College,University Students, Eating Disorders, Obesity Prevention, Selective Prevention, Effectiveness
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- University student
- Presents with self-reported "weight concerns"
Exclusion Criteria:
- Diagnosis of Eating Disorder
- Obese
- Underweight
- Non-english speaking
Sites / Locations
- Oregon State University
- University of Oregon
- Oregon Research Institute
- University of Texas, Austin
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Arm 3
Active Comparator
Experimental
Placebo Comparator
Healthy Weight
Project Health
Control
The main goal of the Healthy Weight intervention is to make small, sustainable changes to input and output on a weekly basis to achieve a balance between caloric intake and output. All sessions begin with a brief review of what was covered in the previous session, presentation of educational handouts, careful review of previous behavior change goals, and the development of healthy behavior change plans for the next session. Home exercises for all sessions consist of following individualized diet and exercise goals, and keeping a food and exercise log to determine areas for future healthy changes.
Project Health adds dissonance-inducing activities, discussions, and homework activities to the Healthy Weight basic intervention. Each session begins with a verbal commitment to participate (to underscore the voluntary nature of participation), includes discussions of completed home practice assignments and in-session writing/sharing exercises (to create accountability), and concludes with home exercises (to increase level of effort). Completed home assignments are videotaped in subsequent sessions to increase accountability.
Some participants will be randomized to control condition whereby they will be given an psychoeducational video ("Weight of the World")to view.