COMPUTER-ASSISTED WEIGHT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

THIRTY FOUR MILLION AMERICANS ARE AT LEAST 20 PERCENT OVER THEIR IDEAL WEIGHT. THE EXCESS WEIGHT HAS SERIOUS HEALTH IMPLICATIONS BECAUSE OBESITY HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH PREMATURE MORTALITY. AT ANY POINT IN TIME, AS MANY AS 35 PERCENT OF ADULT AMERICANS ARE ATTEMPTING TO LOWER THEIR WEIGHT AT AN ANNUAL COST OF $5 BILLION. HEALTH INNOVATIONS, INC. WILL DEVELOP A WEIGHT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM THAT RELIES ON A HAND-HELD, FULLY DEDICATED COMPUTERTO GUIDE A SELF-HELP INTERVENTION. SELF-HELP WEIGHT MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS TYPICALLY RELY ON BIBLIOTHERAPY INTERVENTIONS OF QUESTIONABLE EFFECTIVENESS. THE COMPUTER-BASED PROGRAM WILL APPLY STATE-OF-THE-ART TREATMENT CONCEPTS FROM THE WEIGHT CONTROL LITERATURE TO STRUCTURE THE INTERVENTION. IT IS HYPOTHESIZED THAT THE PROGRAM WILL BE INDIVIDUALIZED AND PRESCRIPTIVE AS A FUNCTION OF BASELINE NUTRITION PATTERNS AND ACTIVITY LEVELS,AND DYNAMIC AS A FUNTION OF SUCCESS OR FAILURE WITH GOAL ATTAINMENT. THE PROGRAM WILL GO THROUGH A SERIES OF DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITIES FOLLOWED BY TESTING WITH 29 OVERWEIGHT INDIVIDUALS. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF PHASE I IS TO DEVELOPA COMPUTER-BASED PROGRAM THAT CAN BE TESTED IN A PHASE II EFFICACY TRIAL.