Volunteers wanted for Weight Loss Study
We are looking for females aged between 35 and 65 wanting to lose weight.
Comparing Low Carbohydrate & Low Fat Diets
60 female participants Wanted at each participating centre. The aim is to have 600 women (n=600) to provide a substantial data set.
If you are aged between 35 and 65, and interested in losing some weight you are invited to participate in a 4 week study.
The aim of the study is to compare a well-formulated low-carbohydrate diet with a low-fat diet.
Participants will rate:
- ease of compliance
- perceived energy
- sleep quality
- weight loss, girth and blood pressure will be measured at the start and end of the study
Both diets are formulated by a dietitian and based on everyday foods available in any supermarket.
Participants are supported with individual diet-coaching (3 times a week) and supervised exercise. Participants must be willing to attend 3 times a week.
The results will be compared to a third exercise group (3) who exercise but have no dietary intervention.
Participants choose the group that they feel will best suit their lifestyle:
Group 1 Low Carbohydrate - Moderate Fat diet & exercise
Group 2 Low Fat - Moderate Carbohydrate diet & exercise
Group 3 Exercise group - no diet - just exercise
For Groups 1 & 2 all program materials (menus, recipes and educational resources) and exercise are provided at no charge (typically $289). Participants choosing to be in Groups 1 & 2 pay a nominal cost ($29.95 per week) to cover the three coaching sessions each week.
Participants have the choice of paying in advance, or by weekly direct debit which carries a $10 initial set up fee.
Group 3 (exercise) participants pay nothing.
Participants for all three groups are wanted.
For registration & information call your nearest Healthy Inspirations centre.
All volunteers will receive initial exercise instruction to ensure that they learn how to do all exercises safely. This will be done at their nearest Healthy Inspirations centre at no cost during the study.Participants will also have the option of purchasing calorie-controlled, protein-enhanced between-meal snacks at bulk prices.
More About the Study
Why any charge?
Previous weight loss studies have assessed programs that are fully subsidised versus those with a nominal contribution. They showed that volunteers in fully subsidised studies had marginal (if any) weight change. This could be for a variety of reasons including volunteers with a low readiness to change deliberately choosing no-cost studies.
This study has no goverment funding or funding from a drug company. Its aim is simply help learn the best methods for weight loss. One result may well be that their is no ideal one diet for all people.
However, it is important to have a control group that does the same exercise program as the study groups but with no dietary intervention. Control group participants (Exercise only) do not make any financial contribution.
All participants will be new to the exercise program as we wish to monitor the critical initial period in the weight loss journey. For this reason, the study participants cannot include existing Healthy Inspirations members.
The weight loss study period will be over 4 weeks. During the study period participants may experience weight loss of up to 4 kilos.
The study will enable the participants (groups 1 and 2) to experience a comprehensively supported lifestyle approach to weight loss and ongoing weight maintenance.
Participants can start at any time during July 2011 as it is not required that all participants start and finish at exactly the same time.
All participants will complete a health screening questionnaire and informed consent form.
Why only 4 weeks?
Healthy Inspirations does not believe that lasting weight loss change occurs with short-term programs. The aim of this short-term program is simply to assess the weight loss effectiveness of low carbohydrate diet versus the proven outcomes of a low fat diet. We believe that 4 weeks will be adequate time to make this assessment.
