Completed

GoalTracker: Comparing Self-Monitoring Strategies for Weight Loss: Does Developing Mastery Before Tracking Diet Enhance Engagement?

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What is being tested

self-monitoring of body weight

+ self-monitoring of diet

+ weekly personalized feedback + lessons + action plans

Behavioral
Who is being recruted

Body Weight+7

+ Body Weight Changes

+ Nutrition Disorders

From 21 to 65 Years
+18 Eligibility Criteria
See all eligibility criteria
How is the trial designed

Treatment Study

Interventional
Study Start: April 2017
See protocol details

Summary

Principal SponsorDuke University
Last updated: January 27, 2026
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Study start date: April 19, 2017

Actual date on which the first participant was enrolled.

This study will examine whether a digital health intervention (GoalTracker) can promote weight loss among adults who are overweight or obese. Engagement in self-monitoring often declines over time, which is then associated with suboptimal weight loss. Finding ways to improve self-monitoring engagement, particularly in the first month of treatment, is needed. Promoting mastery, self-efficacy, and self-regulatory skills may help with maintaining high engagement. The investigators aim to enroll 105 participants. All groups are asked to self-monitor daily on their smartphone using the free commercial mobile application MyFitnessPal over the course of the 12-week intervention. Specifically, the study aims to... 1. Determine the effect of a Sequential self-monitoring intervention, compared to a Simultaneous self-monitoring intervention on weight change, caloric intake change, and proportion of individuals achieving 5% weight loss. 2. Determine the effect of the Sequential self-monitoring intervention, compared to the Control, on the same variables. 3. Compare self-monitoring engagement by intervention arm. 4. Examine the relation between self-monitoring engagement and weight loss. 5. Investigate theoretical mediators (self-efficacy, mastery, and self-regulation) on the relation between treatment arm and weight change.

Official TitleGoalTracker: Comparing Self-Monitoring Strategies for Weight Loss: Does Developing Mastery Before Tracking Diet Enhance Engagement?
NCT03254953
Principal SponsorDuke University
Last updated: January 27, 2026
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Protocol

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.
Design Details

105 patients to be enrolled

Total number of participants that the clinical trial aims to recruit.

Treatment Study

These studies test new ways to treat a disease, condition, or health issue. The goal is to see if a new drug, therapy, or approach works better or has fewer side effects than existing options.

Eligibility

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria: person's general health condition or prior treatments.
Conditions
Criteria

Any sex

Biological sex of participants that are eligible to enroll.

From 21 to 65 Years

Range of ages for which participants are eligible to join.

Healthy volunteers not allowed

If individuals who are healthy and do not have the condition being studied can participate.

Conditions

Pathology

Body WeightBody Weight ChangesNutrition DisordersNutritional and Metabolic DiseasesObesitySigns and SymptomsPathological Conditions, Signs and SymptomsWeight LossOvernutritionOverweight

Criteria

9 inclusion criteria required to participate
ages 21-65 years old
Body Mass Index (BMI) 25-45 kg/m2
interested in losing weight through dietary change
current use of iPhone or Android smartphone
Show More Criteria
9 exclusion criteria prevent from participating
current participation in another weight loss treatment
currently pregnant or planning to become pregnant within study period, or < 1 year post-partum
history of cardiovascular event, eating disorder, diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, cancer, end stage renal disease
current uncontrolled hypertension
Show More Criteria

Study Plan

Find out more about all the medication administered in this study, their detailed description and what they involve.
Treatment Groups
Study Objectives

3 intervention groups are designated in this study

This study does not include a placebo group 

Treatment Groups

Group I

Experimental
* in this Sequential eHealth intervention, participants are asked to self-monitor only their body weight for the first month, then for months 2 and 3 they will be asked to also self-monitor their diet * participants are asked to use the MyFitnessPal app for self-monitoring * given goal to lose 5% weight by end of intervention (3 months) * weekly personalized feedback via email * weekly skills training materials (behavioral modification lessons; tips on using different features of the app) via email * weekly action plans via email

Group II

Experimental
* in this Simultaneous eHealth intervention, participants are asked to self-monitor both their body weight and diet for 3 months * participants are asked to use the MyFitnessPal app for self-monitoring * given goal to lose 5% weight by end of intervention (3 months) * weekly personalized feedback via email * weekly skills training materials (behavioral modification lessons; tips on using different features of the app) via email * weekly action plans via email

Group III

Experimental
* participants are asked to self-monitor their diet for 3 months * participants are asked to use the MyFitnessPal app for self-monitoring * given goal to lose 5% weight by end of intervention (3 months)

Study Objectives

Primary Objectives

Secondary Objectives

Study Centers

These are the hospitals, clinics, or research facilities where the trial is being conducted. You can find the location closest to you and its status.

This study has 1 location

Suspended

Duke University

Durham, United StatesOpen Duke University in Google Maps
CompletedOne Study Center