AIM2Change: you chose the changes for successful weight management
Research type
Research Study
Full title
AIM2Change: you chose the changes for successful weight management
IRAS ID
317533
Contact name
Elanor C. Hinton
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
Summary of Research
Background: In Bristol, we have run a weight management clinic for young people (YP) for 20 years, with many losing weight. We asked those who do not lose weight, and their families, what the barriers were that stopped them making changes to their diet and activity levels. They answered that they felt lost, did not feel motivated to change, and preferred the clinic to take charge of their weight loss.
Aims: We believe we can help YP (aged 11-18 years) in our clinic develop their motivation to manage their weight using Acceptance and Commitment therapy or ‘ACT’. This helps YP to engage with the choices and changes they want to make, set their own targets, and lose weight. This project is designed to develop a new ACT programme for weight management in young people with young people.
Methods: Our approach is person-centred, focusing on understanding and accommodating the views of the people who will use the intervention, to improve its relevance, and outcomes for them and to increase participation in and adherence to the programme. We will collaborate individually with 10-12 YP with obesity to design the ACT programme (with their parents’ help if they wish). We have created an initial framework for the programme, which will then be further developed with each YP over seven
online sessions. This will ensure that the treatment we propose will be acceptable, age-appropriate, and useful. Each session will be 45 minutes of ACT with our health psychologist, followed by a 15 minute person-centred ‘think aloud’ interview with our qualitative researcher to gain immediate feedback on the session, sharing any changes or additions they think are necessary to improve the intervention. The hope is that the intervention will go forward to pilot trial following this developmental phase.Summary of Results
More young people are living with severe obesity than ever, with only a small chance of becoming a healthy weight in adulthood without help. The ‘Complications of Excess Weight’ (CEW) clinics have opened across England and Wales to provide support to young people with complications of their weight.
Aim: We co-designed a new ‘talking-therapy’ with young people, called AIM2Change: making the changes that matter to you. AIM2Change aims to help young people to develop their own reasons and goals to manage weight, using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
Methods: We worked individually with 13 young people with obesity to design the ACT programme (with their parents in four cases), by introducing the intervention in seven sessions and interviewing the young people after each one. We read through the interviews and found common themes. We held two meetings for all participants and their parents together with all the people working on the project, to agree the final changes to AIM2Change.
Results: The young people in the co-development sessions liked the logical approach, the choice to include a parent or not, the practical activities, and having the opportunity to talk to the therapist. As a result of their feedback, we increased the number and choice of activities, introduced the focus on weight and body image earlier in the intervention, provided more focus on practice of techniques between sessions and increased options for participant choice.
Patient and Public Involvement (PPI): Young people and adults living with obesity attended six PPI sessions held online: at the design stage (discussed overall approach and preferred language), pre and post ethical approval (improving information for participants), for the design of the next feasibility trial (ideas of what to measure), and to gain final feedback at the end. PPI group members provided an evaluation of their experiences after each session.REC name
North West - Greater Manchester East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/NW/0337
Date of REC Opinion
28 Nov 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion