USING COMPUTER-ASSISTED THERAPY IN WEIGHT MANAGEMENT

A NUTRITION ASSESSMENT TOOL WILL BE DEVELOPED, IMPLEMENTED, AND EVALUATED FOR USE IN THE TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF OBESITY. THE SYSTEM WILL CONSIST OF A HAND-HELD CALCULATOR THAT ESTIMATES DIETARY INTAKE FOR CALORIES, PROTEIN, CARBOHYDRATE, AND FAT AND CALCULATES ENERGY EXPENDITURE AND A COMPUTER INTERFACE DESIGNED TO UPLOAD AND DISPLAY DATA FROM THE CALCULATOR. PRINCIPLES OF BEHAVIORAL CHANGE, INCLUDING IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK ON GOAL ATTAINMENT AND RESPONSE-CONTINGENT POSITIVEREINFORCEMENT, WILL BE INCORPORATED BY PROMPTS AND MESSAGES DISPLAYED ON THE CALCULATOR SCREEN. THIS PROTOTYPE WILL PROVIDE AN INNOVATIVE MEANS TO CONTINUOUSLY MONITOR EATING AND EXERCISE HABITS, ENHANCE COMPLIANCE WITH TREATMENT REGIMENS, AND SUPPORT LIFESTYLE CHANGES IN DIET AND PHYSICALACTIVITY. THE INSTRUMENT WILL BE FIELD TESTED WITH 2 TEST GROUPS FOR 8WEEKS. COMPLIANCE TO DIETARY AND EXERCISE REGIMENS WILL BE STATISTICALLY ANALYZED AND COMPARED BETWEEN SUBJECTS USING THE CALCULATOR METHOD AND COUNSELED WITH THE INTERFACE SYSTEM, AND SUBJECTS USING THE PENCIL-AND-PAPER METHOD. FEEDBACK WILL BE OBTAINED BY QUESTIONNAIRE AND FOCUS GROUPS. RESULTS WILL BE EVALUATED AND RECOMMENDATIONS MADE FOR A MORE REFINED, COMPREHENSIVE, AND TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED SYSTEM.