Personalised goals using mobile technology to reduce sedentary behaviour in people living with obesity

INTERVENTION: The study is employing a 2 groups (intervention and control) x 2 time‐points (baseline, 10‐week follow‐up) mixed Analysis of Variance design to investigate the impact of a personalised goal‐setting versus standard care on primary and secondary health outcomes in a group of patients enrolled in the CLANN Programme (https://croi.ie/about/our‐programmes‐services/croi‐clann/) designed to reduce weight in patients living with obesity. Baseline measures for all variable are assessed after which participants are randomly assigned, using simple randomisation, to either intervention or control condition. Standard Care (control group): Standard care group will attend the CLANN programme for 10 weeks. The CLANN programme is a lifestyle intervention, run by the cardiac foundation Croì, which patients are referred to by their bariatric consultant. The programme consists of eight 2.5 hour sessions whereby the attendees have a brief check‐up with their nurse and complete an exercise class, and then receive an educational seminar. The seminars include healthy eating, food labels, benefits of physical activity, psychological issues of obesity and maintaining change. No sedentary behaviour goals are given as part of the programme. On the penultimate week of CLANN, the control group’s sedentary behaviour and psychosocial variables will be measured again. Intervention group: This group will participate in the same CLANN programme as the standard care group. However, they also receive weekly personalised goals to decrease their sedentary behaviour. These will be based on their baseline numbers. Sedentary behaviour is calculated as the amount of time spent sitting or lying, minus eight hours for sleep. Personalised goals are CONDITION: Obesity, under consideration for bariatric surgery ; Nutritional, Metabolic, Endocrine ; Obesity PRIMARY OUTCOME: 1. Sedentary behaviour assessed using the activPAL device at baseline and 10 weeks. The activPALTM is an accelerometer providing measures on the sitting/lying time and the number of up/down transitions in the time period. SECONDARY OUTCOME: ; 1. Body Mass Index (BMI) calculated from measurements of weight and height at baseline and 10 weeks; 2. Distress was measured using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) at baseline and 10 weeks; 3. Anxiety measured using the Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (OASIS) at baseline and 10 weeks; 4. Self‐efficacy was measured using the General Self‐Efficacy (GSE) scale at baseline and 10 weeks; INCLUSION CRITERIA: 1. Age =18 years 2. Competent in the English language 3. Enrolled in the Croi CLANN Programme at University College Hospital Galway