Thread by @OPTforhealthVCU

Can a #digitalhealth intervention promote clinically meaningful improvements in adiposity &❤️health for #EmergingAdults? Do theory-based motivational enhancements improve benefits? Check out #REACHtrial outcomes in @JAMANetworkOpen to find out! @VCUresearch @VCUnews @VCUMassey

The #REACHtrial was grounded in formative & pilot work with #EmergingAdults to learn what they wanted & needed. Interested? Check out some key papers here:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

Next we refined our developmentally adapted lifestyle intervention based on what we learned, and enrolled 382 emerging adults in the #REACHtrial. Check out our design & rationale paper and recruitment & retention papers here:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36055582/

The aims of the #REACHtrial were to test the comparative efficacy of 3 approaches: a developmentally adapted program (aBWL), aBWL + motivational enhancements grounded in behavioral economics, aBWL + motivational enhancements grounded self determination theory. Key findings were:

All three approaches tested in the #REACHtrial promoted significant improvements in:
✅ weight
✅ waist circumference
✅ percent body fat
✅ blood pressure
BUT importantly, neither of the motivational enhancement arms were more effective than the developmentally adapted standard

Across arms, mean weight losses in the #REACHtrial exceeded the min threshold for clinical significance & were far greater than previous trials. Over 40% of pts experienced weight losses of 5% or more at 6 months. 👏👏👏
But no group differences were observed. Why might that be?

Some possibilities for the lack of group differences in the #REACHtrial include:
✔️ strength of the developmentally adapted program
✔️ motivational enhancements were not strong enough
✔️ high variability in treatment benefit observed

Important questions we will be examining in future papers from the #REACHtrial include:
❓do behavioral or psychosocial outcomes differ by group?
❓do intervention effects vary by race, ethnicity, or gender?
❓are there group differences in maintenance after the intervention?

Interested in this work and future outcome papers from the #REACHtrial? Give us a follow @OPTforhealthVCU and our PI @JessicaGLaRose