Staying Fit

Description:

Staying Fit is an online program designed to help overweight young people learn about healthy eating and physical activity. It was developed from another online program - Student Bodies BED - and includes 12 interactive sessions, as well as a pedometer and a walking program. The Staying Fit intervention incorporates cognitive behavioural principles and hunger and satiety awareness skills. The intervention combines psychoeducation and behavioural interventions, such as self-monitoring, goal setting, stimulus control and appetite awareness, and introduces emotion regulation skills. The program introduces a new topic related to healthy eating, physical activity, binge eating and weight loss/maintenance each week, with content from previous weeks remaining accessible at any time. The program also includes a discussion group moderated by a research assistant. The content is designed with a reading level suitable to age 12 and above. Additionally the intervention program also involves the user's parents - they are sent regular newsletters and given advice on how they can also help. Participants are currently being recruited in order to evaluate the program in a study in Australia.

Service URL:

http://www.rch.org.au/cah/stayingfit

Agency Responsible:

Program developed by Behavioral Medicine Multimedia Laboratory at Stanford University and has been modified for use in Australia by researchers at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute at The Royal Children's Hospital.

Details

Format:

Website.

Intervention Types:

Educational (primarily educational material or psychoeducation) and Psychological – CBT.

Course Length:

Long (more than 5 modules). One hour per week for 12 weeks

Support Option:

Program guidance. via an online discussion board and automated support through quizzes and weekly feedback

Target Audience

Primary Category:

Weight and Obesity. Adolescent overweight & obesity

Target Audience:

Adolescent. 12-17 year olds

Language:

English.

Access

Fee:

Free.

Access:

Open: With registration. Currently recruiting overweight 12-17 years who live in Melbourne to participate in a trial of the program

Contact Details:

(+61) 03 9345 6954, stayingfit@mcri.edu.au, via the webpage, or through an online form: https://redcap.mcri.edu.au/surveys/?s=e3iDwq

Research evidence

Research Trials:

1

Research RCTs:

0

Outcome Summary:

Staying Fit has been modified from another evidence-based online program called Student Bodies-BED. However, only one study to date has specifically examined the efficacy of the Staying Fit program. Conducted in a high school in the USA, students with >=85th percentile BMI for their age & gender were allocated to the 'StayingFit BED' track while students <85th percentile BMI are given 'StayingFit general' . The two tracks are similar, however the BED intervention incorporates cognitive behavioural principles and hunger and satiety awareness skills, while the general does not. Indeed, findings were encouraging, with the 'StayingFit BED' group showing a slight reduction in self-reported BMIs and reports indicating students found the program helpful and engaging. Also there was a significant reduction in weight and shape concerns in the high-risk female students.

The Staying Fit program (BED track only) is currently being tested within a community population (within metropolitan Melbourne) of overweight adolescents. This study includes a 'usual care' control group who receive handouts containing basic information on nutrition and physical activity but are not given specific instructions on behaviour modification. Recruitment has commenced and will continue throughout 2012.

 

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Research paper citations

Taylor, CB., Taylor, K., Jones, M., Shorter, A., Yee, M., Genkin, B., Burrows, A., Kass, AE., Rizk, M., Redman, M., Romer, P., Williams, J., Wilfley, DE. (2012) Obesity Prevention in Defined (High School) Populations. International Journal of Obesity Supplements, 2, S30-S32.