Daily Weight Feedback for Wheelchair Users to Promote Weight Loss

The goals of the proposed study are to test the usability, feasibility and preliminary efficacy of the E-Scale with wheelchair users. The E-scale was developed as a weight monitoring technology for wheelchair users. Up to fifteen overweight or obese wheelchair users will be enrolled in a 13 week study that includes standard behavioral treatment (SBT) for weight loss, which focuses on diet, physical activity, and behavioral strategies (e.g., goal setting, self-monitoring) to support lifestyle changes specifically for people with mobility impairments. The subjects will also be provided the E-scale to track their weight daily. The outcome measure include usefulness (subjective feedback from a survey about the program/E-scale), feasibility (accuracy and repeatable measurements from the E-scale) and efficacy (improvements in weight and other measures of health) of the weight loss program coupled with the E-scale at the end of 13 weeks. The primary hypothesis is that the E-scale coupled with the weight loss intervention will result in significant improvements in weight, abdominal girth, body fat percentage, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D).The results may inform the refinement of this technology to increase its applicability for wheelchair users to independently monitor their weight in their own homes while attempting to lose weight.