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| Name | Class |
|---|---|
| UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health | UNKNOWN |
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The goal of this study is to learn if integrating a chatbot into an existing 12-week smartphone-delivered behavioral weight loss program is feasible and effective for weight loss among young adults. Researchers will compare a standard behavioral weight loss program for young adults that delivers 1-2 brief messages per day (AGILE) to the same program with a chatbot that offers additional behavior change support integrated into the app (AGILE + Chatbot) to determine if the program with the chatbot is feasible, acceptable to participants, and improves program engagement and weight change compared to AGILE alone.
At baseline, 20 young adults, ages 18-39, with overweight or obesity, will be randomized to either the AGILE or AGILE + Chatbot group. Participants in both groups will receive a 12-week mobile behavioral weight loss intervention (AGILE) delivered via the study smartphone application. The weight loss intervention includes weekly evidence-based lessons; personalized goals; self-monitoring of diet, activity, and weight; weekly tailored feedback on progress; and brief, tailored messages 1-2 times per day displayed in the study smartphone app. Participants in the AGILE group will receive no additional program features. Participants in the AGILE + Chatbot group will have a version of the smartphone app with an integrated chatbot. The chatbot will be available for brief conversations 1-2 times per day. Assessments will occur at baseline and 12 weeks.
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| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Intervention | Experimental | Participants receive the standard AGILE behavioral weight loss intervention via the study smartphone application. |
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| Core Intervention with Chatbot | Experimental | Participants receive the standard AGILE behavioral weight loss intervention via the study smartphone application plus a chatbot integrated into the app. |
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| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AGILE Intervention | Behavioral | 12-week behavioral weight loss intervention that includes daily self-monitoring (tracking) of dietary intake, physical activity, and weight; personalized daily goals for dietary intake and physical activity; weekly behavioral lessons in the study app; weekly tailored feedback on goal progress and weight change; and 1-2 intervention messages per day that are tailored based on current diet, activity, and/or weight progress. Participants receive a Fitbit activity tracker and scale and track their activity and weight in the Fitbit app. Participants use a simplified approach to self-monitoring their dietary intake by tracking 'red' (high calorie) foods in the study's food log smartphone app. This data is used to inform the daily intervention messages and weekly tailored feedback. |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Program engagement | Program engagement is defined as the mean percent of days in which participants accessed the AGILE app. | up to 12 weeks |
| Chatbot engagement | Chatbot engagement is defined as the mean percent of days in which participants started a conversation with the chatbot. | up to 12 weeks |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Acceptability - Perceived usefulness of chatbot | Perceived usefulness (PU) of the chatbot is measured by the Perceived Usefulness subscale of the Technology Acceptance Model Questionnaire. This subscale includes four items that assess usefulness of the chatbot within the AGILE program that are scored on a Likert scale of 1 = Strongly disagree to 7 = Strongly agree. A composite score is calculated by taking an average of the four items. Higher values on the composite PU score represent a greater perceived usefulness of the chatbot. |
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Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
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| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Brooke T Nezami, PhD | University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill | Principal Investigator |
| Facility | Status | City | State | ZIP | Country | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill | North Carolina | 27514 | United States |
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| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D015431 | Weight Loss |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D001836 | Body Weight Changes |
| D001835 | Body Weight |
| D012816 | Signs and Symptoms |
| D013568 | Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms |
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| Chatbot | Behavioral | The AGILE chatbot operates via a trained generative artificial intelligence large language model and offers additional support to participants for making changes in their dietary and physical activity behaviors. The chatbot is available for conversation only after a message has been delivered in the AGILE app. Participants can choose to start a conversation or not, and the ability to start a conversation expires at midnight. The chatbot is able to provide evidence-based cognitive behavioral support to participants including, but not limited to: 1) strategies and tips for dietary self-monitoring, physical activity tracking (wearing the Fitbit), and self-weighing; 2) overcoming common barriers to dietary and physical activity goal achievement; 3) general support for remaining engaged in behavior change efforts during the course of the program. |
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| 12 weeks |
| Acceptability - Perceived ease of use of chatbot | Perceived ease of use (EU) of the chatbot is measured by the Perceived Ease of Use subscale of the Technology Acceptance Model Questionnaire. This subscale includes six items that assess how easy it is to use the chatbot within the AGILE program that are scored on a Likert scale of 1 = Strongly disagree to 7 = Strongly agree. A composite score is calculated by taking an average of the six items. Higher values on the composite EU score represent a greater perceived ease of use of the chatbot. | 12 weeks |
| Percent weight change | Percent weight change is defined as weight change from baseline to 12 weeks, calculated as [(weight at 12 weeks - baseline weight) / baseline weight] × 100 | Baseline, Week 12 |