Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jan 17;4(1):62-75.
doi: 10.1002/osp4.142. eCollection 2018 Feb.

Together Eating & Activity Matters (TEAM): results of a pilot randomized-clinical trial of a spousal support weight loss intervention for Black men

C L Alick  1 , C Samuel-Hodge  1 , D Ward  1 , A Ammerman  1 , C Rini  2 , D F Tate  1   3
Affiliations

Together Eating & Activity Matters (TEAM): results of a pilot randomized-clinical trial of a spousal support weight loss intervention for Black men

C L Alick et al. Obes Sci Pract. .

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of this study is to evaluate the feasibility, participation, preliminary efficacy and retention in a couples-based weight loss intervention among Black men.

Design setting participants: Two-arm pilot randomized clinical trial in an academic clinical setting. Forty self-identified Black men and their female cohabitating partners (n = 80) aged 18 to 65 years with body mass index from 25 to 45 kg/m2 were randomized using computer generated tables to allocate treatments.

Intervention: Participants were randomized to a standard behavioural weight loss (Standard) programme or the Standard programme plus partner involvement (Enhanced). Both interventions focused on calorie reduction, physical activity and self-monitoring to facilitate weight loss. Enhanced included couples skills training and couple's communication components.

Main outcome and measures: Changes in weight from baseline to 3 months among men. Partner weight loss (secondary).

Results: Forty Black couples (men mean [SD] age, 47.4[11] years; body mass index, 35.0[6.1]), were recruited. Retention was 100% of the men and 98% of female partners. Attendance at group sessions was 63-73%. Between groups, mean (SD) weight changes among men were -3.4[.04] and -4.7[5.9] kg (p = 0.57) and among women -0.23[4.46] and -2.47[3.62] kg (p = 0.09), in the standard and enhanced groups.

Conclusions: Weight losses from an intervention enhanced by partner involvement and an intervention with no partner involvement were not different. Treatment choice can be based on preference rather than outcome as both treatments are effective in producing clinically significant percent weight loss.Trial registration Clinical Trials NCT02458053.

Keywords: African Americans; Male; Social support; Weight loss.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
CONSORT participant flow diagram for randomized clinical pilot: Together Eating & Activity Matters Trial
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. National Center for Health Statistics . Health, United States, 2015: With special feature on racial and ethnic health disparities. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics: Hyattsville, MD, 2016. - PubMed
    1. Griffith DM, Ober Allen J, Gunter K. Social and cultural factors influence african american men's medical help seeking. Research on Social Work Practice 2011; 21: 337–347. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1049731510388669. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731510388669. - DOI - DOI
    1. Barnett E, Halverson J. Local increases in coronary heart disease mortality among blacks and whites in the united states, 1985–1995. American Journal of Public Health 2001; 91: 1499–1506. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.91.9.1499. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Harris MI, Eastman RC, Cowie CC, Flegal KM, Eberhardt MS. Racial and ethnic differences in glycemic control of adults with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 1999; 22: 403–408. - PubMed
    1. Warner DF, Hayward MD. Early‐life origins of the race gap in men's mortality. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 2006; 47: 209–226. https://doi.org/10.1177/002214650604700302. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Associated data

LinkOut - more resources