# Preventing weight gain in U.S. Air Force personnel using a novel mobile health intervention

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2022 · $652,615

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
Weight gain is disproportionately high among young adults (YAs) with average weight gain of 30 lbs. occurring
between ages 18-35 and is associated with an early worsening of CVD risk factors. Primary prevention of
weight gain is important because weight loss is difficult to achieve, access to programs is limited, and initially
successful people regain weight over time. Weight gain is a serious problem in the Department of Defense, our
nation’s largest employer, with more employees than Walmart or Amazon. The military, comprised largely of
YAs, has growing rates of obesity and yearly weight gain. Many people believe that young, active-duty men
and women are fit, lean, and healthy because of the military lifestyle and protected from obesity. Unfortunately,
obesity rates in active U.S. military personnel have mirrored those of civilians. Furthermore, inability to
maintain a healthy weight results in early discharges and threatens the readiness of well-trained Airmen to be
deployed. Overweight in the military is now considered a threat to national security. Few weight gain
prevention (WGP) trials have been done in military populations, and previous trials with YAs have mixed
results and poor external validity. Our proposal is designed to address the major public health problem of
weight gain in the military, as well as address notable gaps in pragmatic mHealth and WGP trials. The SNAP-
M intervention will be adapted, with partners and key stakeholder from the US Air Force, from our evidence-
based WGP intervention for YAs, the Study of Novel Approaches to weight gain Prevention (SNAP). SNAP
tested 2 self-regulatory interventions in 599 general population YAs and found that both reduced weight gain
over 2-3 years compared to controls. This project proposes to make 1) critical adaptions to SNAP to facilitate
translation and 2) conduct a Pragmatic Hybrid Type 1 Effectiveness Trial of the SNAP-M intervention using a
2-group randomized controlled trial (RCT) design in 454 Air Force Airmen recruited from 4 military installations
with the primary outcome of mean weight change from baseline to 2 years. We will compare the groups on key
outcomes and examine potential moderators of treatment effect. Additionally, we will apply a RE-AIM
Framework to determine reach and representativeness, and potential for organizational-level adoption,
implementation, and maintenance of SNAP-M, if successful. The proposed research fills key research gaps in
an underserved population in critical need of weight gain prevention with completely remote delivery suitable
for YAs in the military.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10346255
- **Project number:** 1R01HL161836-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Deborah F. Tate
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $652,615
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-06-10 → 2027-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10346255

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10346255, Preventing weight gain in U.S. Air Force personnel using a novel mobile health intervention (1R01HL161836-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10346255. Licensed CC0.

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