Experience Success: Virtual Reality Skills Training to Enhance e-Weight Loss

体验成功：虚拟现实技能培训，增强电子减肥效果

• 批准号: 9119819
• 负责人: John Graham Thomas
• 金额: $ 22.88万
• 依托单位: VIRTUALLY BETTER, INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-09-15 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9119819
• 关键词: Address; Adherence; Adult; Affect; Awareness; Behavior; Behavior Therapy; Behavioral; Behavioral Model; Body Weight decreased; Computers; Diet; Eating; Educational process of instructing; Feedback; Food; Goals; Health; Health behavior; Healthy Eating; Home environment; Individual; Industry; Internet; Knowledge; Lead; Learning; Learning Skill; Letters; Marketing; Measures; Methods; Obesity; Online Systems; Overweight; Participant; Patient Self-Report; Peer Pressure; Persons; Phase; Physical activity; Preparation; Provider; Randomized Controlled Trials; Research; Science; Social Reinforcement; System; Technology; Testing; Time; Training; Visit; Weight; Weight maintenance regimen; Work; Workplace; base; clinically significant; commercialization; coping; design; efficacy testing; experience; food preparation; improved; obesity treatment; peer; programs; prototype; role model; sedentary lifestyle; skills; skills training; social; social cognitive theory; social model; social situation; success; therapy design; treatment group; virtual; virtual reality; wasting; weight loss intervention

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Overweight and obesity are major health problems, affecting over two-thirds of US adults. Commercially available Internet-based weight loss programs are currently used by millions of overweight/obese individuals in the U.S, but weight losses are often poor, likely because these products on the whole do not incorporate empirically validated behavioral weight loss strategies that have been researched for over 40 years. Similarly, the weight losses obtained via research-based online weight loss programs are about half the size of those obtained via in-person treatment, likely because of the lack of (1) "hands-on" training in behavioral weight control strategies, and (2) support and guidance from group leaders and peers, both of which are hallmarks of traditional in-person treatment. The goal of this application is to improve commercial Internet -delivered behavioral obesity treatments by developing a virtual reality (VR) system that can be integrated into existing Internet weight control programs, such as Weight Watchers Online. The VR system will allow users to experience learning, implementing, and mastering behavioral weight control strategies in controlled virtual settings with the support of a culturally sensitive virtual coach. The VR system will: (a) increase awareness of barriers to weight control behaviors, (b) teach skills to cope with these barriers, (c) build confidence using these skills, and (d) increase commitment to using these skills in real-world situations. The design of the VR System is based on Social Cognitive Theory, which states that health behaviors are learned by observing and imitating peers and role models, and by receiving social reinforcement. A Phase I application (1R41HL114046- 01) was recently completed successfully by the applicants, in which a prototype VR weight loss intervention, designed for integration with existing Internet-delivered behavioral weight loss programs, was developed and pilot tested with a single VR "vignette" focused on social eating situations. A virtual coach will was used to lead the user through the vignette, teach the user behavioral weight control strategies, and help the user cope with any consequences of using behavioral weight control strategies. This interactive social eating "vignette" produced statistically significant improvements in self-reported difficulty controlling eating in social situations, and knowledge, confidence, and commitment for using empirically validated skills for controlling eating in social situations. In this Phase II application we propose to refine the socil eating vignette created and tested in Phase I, and develop an additional 3 vignettes pertaining to other challenging situations involving eating, physical activity, and sedentary behavior (i.e., time spent sitting). We will conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with N = 125 participants to test the efficacy of the 4 vignettes for improving weight losses obtained in a popular paid commercial weight loss program (Weight Watchers Online) over 6 months. Upon successful completion of this Phase II project, we will market the VR system with 4 vignettes to providers of commercially available Internet-based weight loss programs such as Weight Watchers, Inc. (see included letter of support).

描述（由申请人提供）：超重和肥胖是主要的健康问题，影响超过三分之二的美国成年人。目前，美国数以百万计的超重/肥胖者正在使用市售的基于互联网的减肥计划，但减肥效果往往很差，可能是因为这些产品总体上没有纳入经过 40 多年研究的经经验验证的行为减肥策略。同样，通过基于研究的在线减肥计划获得的体重减轻大约是通过面对面治疗获得的体重减轻的一半，可能是因为缺乏（1）行为体重控制策略的“实践”培训，以及（2）来自团体领导和同伴的支持和指导，这两者都是传统面对面治疗的标志。该应用程序的目标是通过开发虚拟现实（VR）系统来改进商业互联网提供的行为肥胖治疗，该系统可以集成到现有的互联网体重控制程序（例如慧俪轻体在线）中。 VR系统将允许用户在受文化敏感的虚拟教练的支持下，在受控虚拟环境中体验学习、实施和掌握行为体重控制策略。虚拟现实系统 将：(a) 提高对体重控制行为障碍的认识，(b) 教授应对这些障碍的技能 这些障碍，(c) 建立使用这些技能的信心，(d) 增加在现实情况中使用这些技能的承诺。 VR系统的设计基于社会认知理论，该理论认为健康行为是通过观察和模仿同伴和榜样以及接受社会强化来学习的。申请人最近成功完成了第一阶段申请（1R41HL114046-01），其中开发了原型 VR 减肥干预措施，旨在与现有的互联网提供的行为减肥计划集成，并使用专注于社交饮食情况的单一 VR“小插图”进行了试点测试。虚拟教练将用于引导用户完成小插图，教授用户行为体重控制策略，并帮助用户应对使用行为体重控制策略的任何后果。这种互动的社交饮食“小插曲”在自我报告的社交场合控制饮食困难方面产生了统计上显着的改善，并提高了使用经经验验证的技能在社交场合控制饮食的知识、信心和承诺。在第二阶段的应用中，我们建议完善第一阶段创建和测试的社会饮食小插图，并开发另外 3 个与其他具有挑战性的情况相关的小插图，包括饮食、身体活动和久坐行为（即坐着的时间）。我们将进行一项随机对照试验 (RCT)，N = 125 名参与者，以测试 4 个小插图在 6 个月内改善在流行的付费商业减肥计划（慧俪轻体在线）中获得的体重减轻的功效。成功完成第二阶段项目后，我们将向基于互联网的商业减肥计划提供商（如Weight Watchers, Inc.）销售带有 4 个小插图的 VR 系统（请参阅随附的支持信）。