Abstract
Rates of overweight and obesity in emerging adults are rapidly increasing and are associated with many chronic illnesses, quality of life concerns, and increased health care spending. Effective weight management interventions are needed for this population who are typically under-represented in weight loss research. The purpose of this study was to test the effect of a text messaging weight loss intervention on level of motivation for weight loss, stage of change for weight loss, and BMI. Overweight and obese emerging adults ages 18-29 were recruited via Facebook, email, and word of mouth and randomized to intervention or control groups. Participants in the control group received standard of care weight loss information via the study website. Intervention participants received access to the same web-site and were also sent daily weight-loss related text messages. Data collection was completed via online, self-reported measures at baseline, four, and eight weeks. Primary outcome measures were level of motivation for weight loss, stage of change for weight loss, and BMI. A total of 188 individuals enrolled in the study and 95 completed data collection at all three points of time. All participants showed a statistically significant increase in stage of change (p < .01) and decrease in BMI (p < .01) over time but there was no statistically significant difference between the intervention and control groups. Both groups had a significant increase in level of motivation over the study duration (p < .01). An initial decrease in motivation levels from baseline to 4 weeks was followed by an increase from 4 weeks to 8 weeks. There was no significant difference in motivation levels between groups (p = .83). There was a statistically significant correlation between level of motivation for weight loss and stage of change for weight loss at all three time points (r = .26, p = .01; r = .41, p < .01; r = .38, p < .01). These results provide important insights for the design of effective weight loss treatment for emerging adults and support the use of web and text message-based interventions.