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Completed

NCT Number: NCT03762135

Location Initiated Individualized Texts for Adolescent Health (LIITAH)

The goal of this study is to test whether the mobile application (app.) helps adolescents make healthy food choices, decreasing calories purchased from restaurants, fewer number of visits to restaurants, and if it has an impact on their body mass index (BMI). Eligible adolescents will be enrolled in the study along with a parent for approximately 6 weeks.

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Key information

Conditions

Overweight Body Weight Healthy Nutrition Disorders Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases Obese Obesity Overnutrition Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Signs and Symptoms

Age range

13 year–17 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, United States

About this study

Excess weight puts millions of adolescents in the US at risk for weight-related illnesses and premature death and disproportionately impacts Black and Hispanic populations. Black and Hispanic youth are more likely to be exposed to communities with high densities of fast-food restaurants. This project sought to help adolescents make healthy choices in obesogenic settings that are relevant to and have been tested in populations who are at the highest risk for obesity and its associated costs.

Previous research revealed that adolescents welcomed health-related text messages (based on Self Determination Theory and Motivational Interviewing) if they viewed them as personally relevant and if they were received at times when they faced dietary choices. Based on these findings, the following is hypothesized: delivering messages (tailored to users' preferences and values) at a time and place when they are making a dietary choice (e.g., in a restaurant) will positively influence their choices.

Thus, the Health Kick+ App was developed, and it aimed to deliver tailored messages at the point of purchase. This app identifies when users are in a restaurant, automatically sends culturally relevant messages tailored to user preferences and the menu options at their location with the aim of prompting users to make a healthy choice, and allows users to submit an annotated photo response about their food choice. Participants were recruited as parent/guardian and teen dyads. Teen participants also were allowed to set goals, see progress reports, and receive daily health tips. Parent/guardian participants could communicate with the teen via the app and monitor progress.

This project worked towards enhancing the earlier version of the app developed in the LIITA3H study. The LIITAH study worked towards developing 1) deeper individual tailoring, making the content even more relevant to users from different races/ethnicities; 2) a dyad capability for parents to use the app coordinated with their adolescent; and 3) additional engagement features to remind participants to use the app frequently.

As of 2020, due to the influence of the public health emergency, lockdowns prevented any participants from engaging in going to restaurants as they previously would have. Due to the trial beginning in 2021, no six-month app-based data was acquired before the lockdown, and research limitations were imposed. When behavioral research of this type was allowed to resume, limited time remained before the funded study would have to end. Thus, certain aspects of the protocol and intervention were modified. To be pragmatic under these constrained circumstances, the intervention was shortened from 6 months to 6 weeks.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • eat restaurant food at least 3 times a week and have a parent who agrees to participate.

Exclusion criteria

-

Treatment and study plan

Full version of the LIITah App.

Other

Participants will download the LIITAH app. For the first 2 weeks the app. will only record presence in a restaurant and ask users to submit photos of their food. in week 3 all of the program features will be activated.

Partial App. (ELI and SNAP only)

Other

Participants will download the LIITAH app. It will detect their presence in a restaurant and users will submit annotated photos of their purchases

Primary outcomes

  1. Visits to Restaurants

    Time frame: over 6 weeks

    Number of visits will be obtained from the app. This outcome measure is based exclusively on adolescent data.

  2. Calories Purchased From Restaurants

    Time frame: over 6 weeks

    Number of calories purchased by the adolescent and for the adolescent were assessed using annotated photos, and nutritional data from the restaurant menus.

    This analysis used population averaged generalized estimating equation regressions (GEE) to compare trajectories of calories purchased between groups. The GEE approach allowed for the correlation in repeated observations collected from participants over time. This outcome measure is based exclusively on adolescent data.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Body Mass Index (BMI) Percentile

    Time frame: 6 weeks

    Height and weight will be obtained. This outcome measure is based exclusively on adolescent data.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Michigan

Other

Collaborators

  • National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2022
Study completion
2022
First posted
Dec 3, 2018
Registry last updated
Aug 26, 2024

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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