COUNTY DURHAM / NORTH EAST PEOPLE

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NULevel is a research project into weight loss maintenance run by Newcastle University, aimed at people who live or work in the North East of England. A lot of work has gone into helping people lose weight, but not much is known about how to help them keep it off. In response, we have created a new, scientific programme to help people avoid weight regain. We are looking for people to try it out, in order to see how effective it is.
You can find further information on NULevel through the following link:
http://research.ncl.ac.uk/nulevel/

If you are interested in participating, submit the online form? The link is on the home page through the above website address, and will take less than 5 minutes to complete. We need to know various details in order to check your eligibility. If you are eligible, we will send you more information about participation and arrange an appointment for an initial interview and assessment.

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What is NULevel?
NULevel is a research project into weight loss maintenance run by Newcastle University, aimed at people who live or work in the North East of England. Lots of work has gone into helping people lose weight, but not much is known about how to help them keep it off. In response, we created a new, scientific programme to help people avoid weight regain. We are looking for people to try it out, in order to see how effective it is.

What are you trying to find out?

The aim of this study is to see if a new programme for weight loss maintenance can help people in the North East of England to keep the weight off.

Who can take part?

We are looking for 288 people in the North East of England who have lost at least 5% of their body weight intentionally in the last 12 months, and who started off very overweight (with a BMI of 30 or more - we can check this). These people will be randomly assigned to receive either the new programme OR a less intense means of support.

I've lost weight - am I eligible?

If you are interested in taking part, fill in our online eligibility form and we will get in touch quickly to let you know if you can take part. PLEASE NOTE, if you have problems accessing the online form, simply email nulevel@newcastle.ac.uk or phone 0191 208 7394 and we will email you the form.

If you received information about the study through the post or e-mail, you could alternatively fill in the form we sent you and return it to the team (see Contact Us for our email and postal address, don't forget to use the postage-paid envelope).

Is it free?

Yes, taking part is absolutely free. In fact, you will receive £25 worth of vouchers at the beginning of the study and £25 worth at the end of the study (12 months later). You can also keep the scales we give you.

We will also reimburse you for your travel expenses. PLEASE NOTE: to take part you need to either live or work in the North East of England.

What happens if I want to take part?

Once you get in touch with us, we will phone or email you to confirm your eligibility.

If you are eligible, we'll send you some more information about the study. A friendly member of our research team will then get in touch to arrange to meet with you and answer any remaining questions you have before you formally sign up.

If I sign up, what happens next?

At your meeting with our research team member, they will ask you to complete some questionnaires, and will take some measurements from you. They will give you a set of state-of-the-art scales to use for the study and keep afterwards. After this meeting we will ring you to let you know which of the two versions of the study you'll experience: the new programme OR the less intense means of support.

Of course, taking part is voluntary. If you change your mind and want to stop at any point that's absolutely fine: you don't even have to give a reason. Your information will be kept securely and anonymised, so it can't be directly linked with your name.

What if I'm allocated to the new programme?

People who get the new programme will meet up with one of the psychologists for a personalised review session to discuss your goals for your weight, physical activity and eating. As part of this, we ask you to fill in a 4-day food diary and wear a step-counter for 4 days in the week before your session.

Please be reassured that we won't try to change what you're doing if you're happy with it - after all, you've successfully lost weight! We will, however, suggest some extra strategies to monitor goal progress, develop realistic plans for the future and help you avoid relapses. Alternatively, if you decide you would like advice about any specific aspect of your weight maintenance plans - for example, how to be more active - we can provide that too.

After the session, we'll ask you to try to weigh yourself every day and to fill in a short diary entry each week using your phone. This is to help you assess your progress towards your goals. If you start to re-gain weight, we will provide extra support to help you get back on track.

What if I'm allocated to the less intensive programme?

You will receive useful information about achieving and maintaining a healthy weight via a newsletter sent out to you every few months. You can use the scales we give you as much or as little as you'd like.

Has the research been approved?

All research led by the University is rigorously reviewed by an independent group of people called a Research Ethics Committee. This study has been reviewed and approved by the East Midlands Research Ethics Committee.

I still have questions ...

Please get in touch and we will help. Phone Liz or Alex on 0191 208 7394, email us at: nulevel@newcastle.ac.uk

cw106

submitted my info and await response.
seems like a win-win to me.

opalsqueak007

I will apply-thank you

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I WORK FOR THE COUNCIL AND WE HAD THIS SENT ROUND ASKING US TO SPREAD THE WORD

cw106

Have just been accepted after assessment for trial.
only took less than an hour,
And have new free scales and £25 vouchers to spend!
thanks to OP for posting.

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Glad i could spread the word