Linda B. Bobroff

Extended-Care Programs for Weight Management in Rural Communities: The Treatment of Obesity in Underserved Rural Settings (TOURS) Randomized Trial

BACKGROUND Rural counties in the United States have higher rates of obesity, sedentary lifestyle, and associated chronic diseases than nonrural areas, yet the management of obesity in rural communities has received little attention from researchers. METHODS Obese women from rural communities who completed an initial 6-month weight-loss program at Cooperative Extension Service offices in 6 medically underserved rural counties (n = 234) were randomized to extended care or to an education control group. The extended-care programs entailed problem-solving counseling delivered in 26 biweekly sessions via telephone or face to face. Control group participants received 26 biweekly newsletters containing weight-control advice. RESULTS Mean weight at study entry was 96.4 kg. Mean weight loss during the initial 6-month intervention was 10.0 kg. One year after randomization, participants in the telephone and face-to-face extended-care programs regained less weight (mean [SE], 1.2 [0.7] and 1.2 [0.6] kg, respectively) than those in the education control group (3.7 [0.7] kg; P = .03 and .02, respectively). The beneficial effects of extended-care counseling were mediated by greater adherence to behavioral weight-management strategies, and cost analyses indicated that telephone counseling was less expensive than face-to-face intervention. CONCLUSIONS Extended care delivered either by telephone or in face-to-face sessions improved the 1-year maintenance of lost weight compared with education alone. Telephone counseling constitutes an effective and cost-efficient option for long-term weight management. Delivering lifestyle interventions via the existing infrastructure of the Cooperative Extension Service represents a viable means of adapting research for rural communities with limited access to preventive health services. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00201006.

The Extension Family Lifestyle Intervention Project (E-FLIP for Kids): Design and methods

The Extension Family Lifestyle Intervention Project (E-FLIP for Kids) is a three-arm, randomized controlled trial assessing the effectiveness of two behavioral weight management interventions in an important and at-risk population, overweight and obese children and their parents in rural counties. Participants will include 240 parent-child dyads from nine rural counties in north central Florida. Dyads will be randomized to one of three conditions: (a) a Family-Based Behavioral Group Intervention, (b) a Parent-Only Behavioral Group Intervention, and (c) an Education Control Condition. Child and parent participants will be assessed at baseline (month 0), post-treatment (month 12) and follow-up (month 24). Assessment and intervention sessions will be held at Cooperative Extension Service offices within each participating county. The primary outcome measure is change in child BMI z-score. Additional key outcome measures include child body fat, waist circumference, dietary intake, physical activity, blood lipids, blood glucose, blood pressure, physical fitness, quality of life, and program and participants costs. Parent BMI, dietary intake, and physical activity also will be assessed. Randomized controlled trials testing the effectiveness of childhood obesity interventions in real-world community-based settings are extremely valuable, but much too rare. The E-FLIP for Kids trial will evaluate the impact of a community-based intervention delivered to families in rural settings utilizing the existing Cooperative Extension Service network on long-term child behavior, weight status and biological markers of diabetes and early cardiovascular disease. If successful, a Parent-Only intervention program may provide a cost-effective and practical intervention for families in underserved rural communities.

Comparing Costs of Telephone vs Face-to-Face Extended-Care Programs for the Management of Obesity in Rural Settings

BACKGROUND A major challenge after successful weight loss is continuing the behaviors required for long-term weight maintenance. This challenge can be exacerbated in rural areas with limited local support resources. OBJECTIVE This study describes and compares program costs and cost effectiveness for 12-month extended-care lifestyle maintenance programs after an initial 6-month weight-loss program. DESIGN We conducted a 1-year prospective randomized controlled clinical trial. PARTICIPANTS/SETTING The study included 215 female participants age 50 years or older from rural areas who completed an initial 6-month lifestyle program for weight loss. The study was conducted from June 1, 2003 to May 31, 2007. INTERVENTION The intervention was delivered through local Cooperative Extension Service offices in rural Florida. Participants were randomly assigned to a 12-month extended-care program using either individual telephone counseling (n=67), group face-to-face counseling (n=74), or a mail/control group (n=74). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Program delivery costs, weight loss, and self-reported health status were directly assessed through questionnaires and program activity logs. Costs were estimated across a range of enrollment sizes to allow inferences beyond the study sample. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED Nonparametric and parametric tests of differences across groups for program outcomes were combined with direct program cost estimates and expected value calculations to determine which scales of operation favored alternative formats for lifestyle maintenance. RESULTS Median weight regain during the intervention year was 1.7 kg for participants in the face-to-face format, 2.1 kg for the telephone format, and 3.1 kg for the mail/control format. For a typical group size of 13 participants, the face-to-face format had higher fixed costs, which translated into higher overall program costs (

Comparative effectiveness of three doses of weight-loss counseling: Two-year findings from the rural LITE trial

420 per participant) when compared with individual telephone counseling (

Interactive learning for congregate nutrition site nutrition education: a pilot study.

268 per participant) and control (

MyPyramid for Older Adults.

226 per participant) programs. Although the net weight lost after the 12-month maintenance program was higher for the face-to-face and telephone programs compared with the control group, the average cost per expected kilogram of weight lost was higher for the face-to-face program (

Study of the Effectiveness of a Health-Risk Reduction Program

47/kg) compared with the other two programs (approximately

Broadening the scope of dietetic practice through research

33/kg for telephone and control). CONCLUSIONS Both the scale of operations and local demand for programs are important considerations in selecting a delivery format for lifestyle maintenance. In this study, the telephone format had a lower cost but similar outcomes compared with the face-to-face format.

Expanding Outreach of a Diabetes Self-management Education Program to Antigua

To evaluate the effects and costs of three doses of behavioral weight‐loss treatment delivered via Cooperative Extension Offices in rural communities.

Evaluation of Be Wise about your Portion Size: a nutrition education program for floridians.

Abstract Older adults who participate in the Older Americans Act Title III-C Elderly Nutrition Program often are at moderate to high nutritional risk. Although nutrition education is a component of the Elderly Nutrition Program, there are numerous barriers to promoting behavior change in older adults. Nutrition education programs targeted to congregate nutrition site participants must address their unique nutritional needs, while engaging them in activities that promote learning and motivate them to make positive behavior changes. This paper describes a pilot study of a theory-driven, five-lesson educational module designed to promote healthful eating behaviors among congregate nutrition site participants through interactive learning.