Helping People Keep Weight Off with Personalized Support
Stepped Care for Weight Loss Maintenance
This project helps people who have lost weight keep it off using a personalized digital support program.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Johns Hopkins University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11117140 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Many people find it challenging to keep weight off after losing it. This project is exploring new ways to help individuals maintain their weight loss using digital tools and personalized support. Participants will first go through a 16-week program to lose at least 5% of their body weight. After this initial phase, they will be randomly assigned to one of three groups for 52 weeks: standard care, daily self-monitoring with digital tools, or a special 'stepped-care' digital program. The stepped-care program offers remote monitoring of weight, activity, and diet, along with automated, personalized text messages to encourage healthy habits.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are adults with obesity who have recently lost more than 5% of their body weight.
Not a fit: Patients who have not yet achieved initial weight loss or prefer in-person support may not find direct benefit from this specific digital program.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could offer a more accessible and personalized way for people to maintain their weight loss, leading to better long-term health.
How similar studies have performed: While extended support is known to help with weight maintenance, this project explores a novel digital stepped-care approach to make such support more accessible.
Where this research is happening
Baltimore, United States
- Johns Hopkins University — Baltimore, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Chao, Ariana Marie — Johns Hopkins University
- Study coordinator: Chao, Ariana Marie
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.