Overweight prevention in blue and white collar workers using two different tailored eHealth programs

The main purpose of this project is to test in a multi-center trial the behavioral effects of two e-coaching self-help programs on overweight prevention for LSES and HSES workers and to compare these effects with those obtained in the control group. Two different programs will be developed, one fully text driven version (referred to as the Text-Text version) and a Text-Video driven version. Both programs target physical activity and nutrition behavior. The main goal of both e-coaching programs is to direct, instruct and train the worker to achieve one particular goal, namely maintenance of body weight or reduction when needed. Study 1 concerns a pilot in which the two versions will be piloted. We will assess program appraisal by assessing attention, comprehension and appreciation as well as the elements that workers do and do not like or understand. The results of Study 1 will be used to develop the two versions for Study 2. Study 2 concerns a multi-center RCT with three conditions (control; Text-Text; Text-Video) with a baseline and two follow-ups at 6 and 12 months. Workers from participating worksites will be randomly allocated to one of the three experimental conditions. The two experimental programs provide computer tailored feedback reports during 6 sessions. Participants can manage their weight by focusing on physical activity (in order to increase calorie expenditure) and/or on nutrition (in order to lower calorie intake). The Text-Text condition will only use text driven messages. It will generate a personalized feedback report to the recipient and provide tailor made suggestions on how to change behavior when needed. Additionally, the text-driven version will provide text-driven elaborations concerning specific topics of relevance for the recipient. The hypothesis is that the Text-Text method will be more appealing and effective for higher educated workers and workers with a higher socio-economic status (HSES). The Text-Video condition will use the same basic personalized feedback report as in the Text-Text condition but will provide illustrations of the main topics using videos. The hypothesis is that the Text-Video method will be more appealing and effective for lower educated workers and workers with a lower socio-economic status (LSES). The control condition will not receive additional information. An annual increase of body weight of 600 grams is expected in the control condition. Power calculations are set to be able to detect a difference of 300 grams between the conditions. The following hypotheses will be tested: 1. The Text-Video condition will result in 1a. No weight increase in LSES workers after 12 months and 1b. 300 gram increase in HSES groups; 2. The Text-Text condition will lead to: 2a.no increase in weight in HSES workers and to 2b. an increase of 300 grams in LSES workers. 3. In the control group the estimated average weight increase will be 600 grams after 12 months, in line with the national increase of 600 grams annually in Dutch Adults (Visscher et al., 2002). Process evaluations will analyze differences in evaluation of the programs for the total population, for LSES and HSES groups, and for other subgroups based on gender, age and ethnicity. Realization and implementation of the proposed proposal will be facilitated by the collaboration with the Dutch Nutrition Center and three national organizations on worksite health promotion that will be responsible for the recruitment of the sample for this study.