Using an API to commercialize an evidence-based weight loss intervention

描述(申请人提供)：超过69%的美国人目前超重或肥胖；35%的人肥胖。肥胖是许多慢性疾病的主要原因，包括II型糖尿病、癌症、心脏病和代谢综合征。行为减肥干预已经成功地在临床上显著改善了体重(体重减轻了7%-10%)，并持续了至少6-12个月。不幸的是，这种干预措施往往耗时、耗费资源，而且难以推广。数字健康在解决减肥问题方面有着巨大的前景，几项试验表明，使用数字健康工具进行了有意义的减肥。数字健康提供了一种手段，以高度个性化的内容和持续的长期参与者参与度接触到大量人--所有这些都是以低成本进行的。尽管有这样的承诺，但数字健康并没有兑现。基于证据的工具几乎没有出现在商业数字健康领域。该应用程序为数字健康应用程序编程接口创造了一个新的商业细分市场。API是软件应用程序使用双方都能理解的语言进行对话的一种方式。API效率高、成本效益高，在商业市场上无处不在。宣传短片使我们能够以有效、具成本效益的方式传播以证据为基础的干预措施。API允许我们以开发人员的“语言”传播有效的干预措施，同时保留干预措施的理论和证据基础。在使用软件的任何地方都可以使用API，因此它们将使我们能够接触到不同的健康市场细分市场，包括应用程序开发商、疾病管理公司、健康保险公司和员工健康公司。在第一阶段，我们将创建一个商业减肥API(WeightBox)，它建立在现有的基于证据的框架之上，并评估其可用性。在第二阶段，我们将在随机临床试验中测试使用WeightBox API的移动应用程序的有效性。在第二阶段结束时，我们的API(和原则证明APP)可能是市场上唯一有临床试验有效性证据的数字健康减肥工具。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Over 69 percent of the U.S. population is currently overweight or obese; 35 percent are obese. Obesity is a primary cause of numerous chronic diseases including type II diabetes, cancer, heart disease and the metabolic syndrome. Behavioral weight loss interventions have successfully resulted in significant clinical improvements in weight (7-10 percent weight loss) that is sustained for at least 6-12 months. Unfortunately, such interventions are often time consuming, resource intensive and difficult to scale. Digital health holds enormous promise for addressing weight loss and several trials have shown meaningful weight loss using digital health tools. Digital health provides a means of reaching large numbers of people with highly personalized content and sustained long-term participant engagement -all at low cost. Despite the promise, digital health has not delivered. Evidence-based tools are virtually absent from the commercial digital health space. This application creates a new commercial market segment for digital health - health application programming interfaces. An API is a way for software applications to talk to one another in a language that they both understand. APIs are efficient, cost effective, and ubiquitous in the commercial market. The API allows us to disseminate evidence based interventions in an efficient, cost-effective manner. APIs allow us to disseminate effective interventions in developer's "language," while preserving the interventions' theoretical and evidentiary basis. APIs are used anywhere that software is used, so they will allow us to reach varied health market segments including app developers, disease management firms, health insurers and employee wellness firms. In Phase I, we will create a commercial weight loss API (WeightBox) that builds on an existing evidence based framework and evaluate its usability. In Phase II, we will test the effectiveness of a mobile app that uses the WeightBox API in a randomized clinical trial. At the end of Phase II, our API (and proof-of-principle app) might be the only digital healt weight loss tools in the market with clinical trial effectiveness evidence.