Get Fit With Facebook

Can text messages, Facebook and Internet-based programs help young adults manage their weight? The National Institutes of Health is ponying up $36 million over the next five years to find out.

The NIH is seeking thousands of participants ages 18-35 for seven clinical trials combining behavioral weight management programs with technologies such as text messaging, online social networking, and Bluetooth-enabled scales. Funding for the Early Adult Reduction of Weight through Lifestyle Intervention trials is coming from the NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

"We expect the use of technology will help us reach young adults at risk of weight gain and inspire them to stay at a healthy weight," said Leslie Lytle, who is leading a trial for community college students involving Web-based social networking, in an NIH news release.

The NHLBI announced the trials a year ago, but just recently started seeking participants. The trials will assess:

• Using the iPod Touch, webinars and podcasts to helping young adults who are trying to quit smoking to also lose weight. (330 participants)
• Enhancing weight loss with text message reminders and wearable exercise monitors. (480 participants)
• Internet-based electronic interventions focusing on diet, physical activity, weight and other issues for pregnant and postpartum women. The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development is helping fund the trial. (3,500 participants)
• Using Web-based social networking to prevent unhealthy weight gain for community college students. (440 participants)
• A weight-loss program using cell phones for self-monitoring and social networking, or for self-monitoring with personal coaching. (360 participants)
• Weight-loss behavioral intervention using mobile phones, Facebook and the Web. (380 participants)
• A Web-based weight-management program to help young adults manage their weight. (600 participants)

Enrollment should begin by the spring.