UH3HL150558
Cooperative Agreement
Overview
Grant Description
(1/2) Log2Lose: Incenting Weight Loss and Dietary Self-Monitoring in Real-Time to Improve Weight Management - Abstract
In the past 40 years, the prevalence of obesity has increased at an alarming rate. Even modest weight loss of at least 5% improves clinical parameters and quality of life. Efficacious behavioral weight loss programs teach participants behavioral strategies to create and maintain a caloric deficit. The two strongest predictors of long-term weight loss in such programs are initial weight loss and dietary self-monitoring. Over time, these phenomena decline, limiting program effectiveness.
Financial incentives to increase initial weight loss and self-monitoring are appealing because they can be delivered to large populations with relative ease and at low cost. Employers and payers have begun to provide financial incentives for health behaviors and outcomes despite an inadequate evidence base to inform the optimal design of such interventions.
The proposed study will evaluate which incentive approach has the greatest impact and durability - incentivizing interim weight loss, dietary self-monitoring, or both. Studies testing the effects of incentivizing these phenomena have shown some promise for increasing short-term weight loss. Few studies have evaluated incentive effects on long-term weight loss; examined the mediating role of intrinsic or extrinsic motivation; or calculated program costs or cost-effectiveness of financial incentive interventions.
In the proposed two-site, randomized, single-blinded, longitudinal 2x2 factorial study, known as "Log2Lose," we address these limitations by evaluating the individual and joint effects of incentivizing, in near real-time, weekly weight loss and dietary self-monitoring on 6-month weight loss and subsequent weight loss maintenance. People with obesity from the communities of Madison, WI, and Durham, NC will receive an 18-month intervention comprising:
1. An incentivized weight loss program for 6 months (Phase I)
2. An incentivized weight maintenance program for 6 months (Phase II)
3. A non-incentivized weight maintenance program for 6 months (Phase III)
Participants will be randomized to receive adjunctive incentives for weekly weight loss, dietary self-monitoring, both, or neither. We will measure the proportion of participants achieving clinically significant weight loss of ≥5% at 6 (primary endpoint), 12, and 18 months. We will assess whether extrinsic and intrinsic motivation mediate intervention effect, calculate intervention costs, and calculate cost-effectiveness ratios across the four study arms.
Our financial incentives intervention was designed to be scalable by using available technology and automating the process of analyzing data to provide incentives in near real-time. The intervention could be paired with various weight loss interventions offered by clinicians or payers, or integrated into a variety of patient and consumer-facing technologies.
Completion of this study will contribute to our long-term goal of identifying and implementing efficacious, cost-effective, scalable approaches to reduce the prevalence of obesity and associated health outcomes.
In the past 40 years, the prevalence of obesity has increased at an alarming rate. Even modest weight loss of at least 5% improves clinical parameters and quality of life. Efficacious behavioral weight loss programs teach participants behavioral strategies to create and maintain a caloric deficit. The two strongest predictors of long-term weight loss in such programs are initial weight loss and dietary self-monitoring. Over time, these phenomena decline, limiting program effectiveness.
Financial incentives to increase initial weight loss and self-monitoring are appealing because they can be delivered to large populations with relative ease and at low cost. Employers and payers have begun to provide financial incentives for health behaviors and outcomes despite an inadequate evidence base to inform the optimal design of such interventions.
The proposed study will evaluate which incentive approach has the greatest impact and durability - incentivizing interim weight loss, dietary self-monitoring, or both. Studies testing the effects of incentivizing these phenomena have shown some promise for increasing short-term weight loss. Few studies have evaluated incentive effects on long-term weight loss; examined the mediating role of intrinsic or extrinsic motivation; or calculated program costs or cost-effectiveness of financial incentive interventions.
In the proposed two-site, randomized, single-blinded, longitudinal 2x2 factorial study, known as "Log2Lose," we address these limitations by evaluating the individual and joint effects of incentivizing, in near real-time, weekly weight loss and dietary self-monitoring on 6-month weight loss and subsequent weight loss maintenance. People with obesity from the communities of Madison, WI, and Durham, NC will receive an 18-month intervention comprising:
1. An incentivized weight loss program for 6 months (Phase I)
2. An incentivized weight maintenance program for 6 months (Phase II)
3. A non-incentivized weight maintenance program for 6 months (Phase III)
Participants will be randomized to receive adjunctive incentives for weekly weight loss, dietary self-monitoring, both, or neither. We will measure the proportion of participants achieving clinically significant weight loss of ≥5% at 6 (primary endpoint), 12, and 18 months. We will assess whether extrinsic and intrinsic motivation mediate intervention effect, calculate intervention costs, and calculate cost-effectiveness ratios across the four study arms.
Our financial incentives intervention was designed to be scalable by using available technology and automating the process of analyzing data to provide incentives in near real-time. The intervention could be paired with various weight loss interventions offered by clinicians or payers, or integrated into a variety of patient and consumer-facing technologies.
Completion of this study will contribute to our long-term goal of identifying and implementing efficacious, cost-effective, scalable approaches to reduce the prevalence of obesity and associated health outcomes.
Awardee
Funding Goals
TO FOSTER HEART AND VASCULAR RESEARCH IN THE BASIC, TRANSLATIONAL, CLINICAL AND POPULATION SCIENCES, AND TO FOSTER TRAINING TO BUILD TALENTED YOUNG INVESTIGATORS IN THESE AREAS, FUNDED THROUGH COMPETITIVE RESEARCH TRAINING GRANTS. SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM: TO STIMULATE TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, USE SMALL BUSINESS TO MEET FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT NEEDS, FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION IN INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP BY SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED PERSONS, AND INCREASE PRIVATE-SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FUNDING. SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM: TO STIMULATE TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER THROUGH COOPERATIVE R&D BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESSES AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, AND INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL R&D.
Grant Program (CFDA)
Awarding / Funding Agency
Place of Performance
Wisconsin
United States
Geographic Scope
State-Wide
Related Opportunity
Analysis Notes
Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 294% from $1,369,815 to $5,396,301.
University Of Wisconsin System was awarded
Log2Lose: Real-Time Incentives Weight Loss & Dietary Self-Monitoring
Cooperative Agreement UH3HL150558
worth $5,396,301
from National Heart Lung and Blood Institute in September 2020 with work to be completed primarily in Wisconsin United States.
The grant
has a duration of 5 years and
was awarded through assistance program 93.837 Cardiovascular Diseases Research.
The Cooperative Agreement was awarded through grant opportunity Clinical Coordinating Center for Multi-Site Investigator-Initiated Clinical Trials (Collaborative UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Required).
Status
(Complete)
Last Modified 7/21/25
Period of Performance
9/15/20
Start Date
8/31/25
End Date
Funding Split
$5.4M
Federal Obligation
$0.0
Non-Federal Obligation
$5.4M
Total Obligated
Activity Timeline
Transaction History
Modifications to UH3HL150558
Additional Detail
Award ID FAIN
UH3HL150558
SAI Number
UH3HL150558-3490153867
Award ID URI
SAI UNAVAILABLE
Awardee Classifications
Public/State Controlled Institution Of Higher Education
Awarding Office
75NH00 NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Funding Office
75NH00 NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Awardee UEI
LCLSJAGTNZQ7
Awardee CAGE
09FZ2
Performance District
WI-90
Senators
Tammy Baldwin
Ron Johnson
Ron Johnson
Budget Funding
| Federal Account | Budget Subfunction | Object Class | Total | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Health and Human Services (075-0872) | Health research and training | Grants, subsidies, and contributions (41.0) | $3,137,796 | 100% |
Modified: 7/21/25