Home food changes and game-like impulse-control tools to help with weight
Official title: Evaluating environmental control (AVOID) and inhibitory control (RESIST) strategies to improve weight management outcomes
Funded at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center · NIH-11293417 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tests whether changing your home food environment and using game-like impulse-control training help adults with overweight or obesity lose more weight during a 12-month WW (Weight Watchers) program.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Cedars-Sinai Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Los Angeles, United States) |
| Project start | February 15, 2022 |
| Project end | January 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $710,544 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DK130851-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11293417 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with overweight or obesity (BMI 25–39.9 kg/m2) who are willing to join a 12-month WW program and can attend visits in the Los Angeles/Cedars‑Sinai area are ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People with BMI outside the 25–39.9 range, those who are pregnant, have recent bariatric surgery, or cannot participate in WW or use online delivery/apps are unlikely to benefit from this trial.
What this research studies
You would join a 12-month Weight Watchers (WW) program and 500 adults with BMI 25–39.9 will be randomly assigned to one of four groups. Some people will get only WW, others will get WW plus changes to their home food environment and online grocery delivery (AVOID), others will get WW plus a gamified impulse-control training app (RESIST), and a fourth group will get both additions. Staff who speak English and Spanish will collect weight, waist circumference, and diet-quality measures at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months to see which approach helps people lose more weight. The main goal is to compare weight loss and waist changes across groups, with diet quality as a secondary outcome.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, these strategies could help people lose more weight and improve diet by making healthy choices easier and reducing impulsive eating.
How similar studies have gone: Behavioral weight-loss programs work best when people stick to them, and smaller studies suggest home food changes and inhibitory-control training can help, but combining these approaches in a large randomized trial is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Los Angeles, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Salvy, Sarah-Jeanne — Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Salvy, Sarah-Jeanne
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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.