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Background: Rural residents are more impacted by obesity and related comorbidities than their urban counterparts. Digital weight management interventions may produce meaningful weight loss among rural residents., Objectives: The iREACH Rural Study aims to identify "high-touch" component(s) that contribute to meaningful weight loss (≥1.5 kg) at 6-months, over and above what the 24-week core online program produces. Three treatment components are assessed: group video sessions (yes/no); self-monitoring feedback (counselor-crafted/pre-scripted, modular); and individual coaching calls (yes/no)., Design: The iREACH Rural Study is a factorial experiment (n = 616)., Methods: Participants receive up to 3 "high-touch" components (weekly synchronous facilitated group video sessions, weekly counselor-crafted self-monitoring feedback, and individual coaching calls) to determine which contribute meaningfully to 6-month weight loss. Participants complete assessments at baseline, 2 months, 6 months, and 12 months. Weight loss at 6 months (primary outcome) and 12 months (secondary outcome) is measured by Bluetooth-enabled scales. The study seeks to identify the weight loss approach for underserved rural residents which optimizes weight change outcomes and also examines costs associated with delivering different treatment constellations., Summary: The iREACH Rural Study is the first of its kind to isolate digital weight loss intervention components to determine which meaningfully contribute to long-term weight loss among rural residing individuals. The results may be used to refine digital weight loss programs by enhancing their effectiveness to allow broad dissemination., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Obesity is a significant health concern for veterans and individuals with spinal cord injury, yet screening for overweight/obesity can be challenging. This study examines how healthcare providers screen for overweight/obesity and the challenges encountered in identifying overweight/obesity in veterans and persons with spinal cord injury., Materials and Methods: Healthcare providers who provide care for persons with spinal cord injury completed a semi-structured interview. The interview explored their perspectives on measuring overweight/obesity in persons with spinal cord injury and the challenges they faced. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes that emerged from the interviews., Results: Twenty-five providers (88% female with an average experience of 9.6 ± 7.3 years in providing care for spinal cord injury patients) participated in the interviews. The themes described the health indicators and equipment used to assess overweight/obesity, provider concerns regarding measurement, and criteria for classifying overweight/obesity. Body weight and body mass index were the most commonly used indicators. However, concerns were raised regarding accuracy of these measures for spinal cord injury patients, as well as issues related to the accessibility, calibration, and usability of the equipment. Many providers reported using standard body mass index ranges and categories instead of those specific to spinal cord injury., Conclusion: This study identified the most commonly used indicators of weight or body composition in veterans and persons with spinal cord injury and highlighted providers' concerns with these measures. Future research is needed to identify the most feasible, accurate, and appropriate health indicators that could be used in a clinical setting to identify overweight and obesity in this population., (© The Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2023. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Importance: Weight loss (WL) during the first month of a behavioral program is associated with longer-term WL. Testing of translatable and adaptive obesity programs is needed., Objective: To compare brief, extended, and no telephone coaching for individuals with suboptimal response (ie, 1-month WL <4%) within an online WL program., Design, Setting, and Participants: This randomized clinical trial with enrollment between March 2019 and April 2022 (data collection completed May 2023) was conducted at an academic research center in the US. Eligible participants included adults aged 18 to 70 years with daily access to internet and a body mass index between 25 and 45., Interventions: All participants received an automated online WL program (4 months) and WL maintenance program (8 months), consisting of video lessons, self-monitoring, and personalized feedback. Participants were randomized, such that individuals with suboptimal response received either brief telephone coaching (3 calls during weeks 5-8), extended telephone coaching (12 calls during weeks 5-16), or no coaching (control). Coaching included education, problem solving, and goal setting, and promoted engagement with the online program., Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcomes were percent weight change and proportion of participants achieving 5% or greater WL at 4 and 12 months. A priori hypotheses for WL were that WL for extended coaching would be greater than for brief coaching, and both extended and brief coaching would be greater than no coaching (control). A longitudinal mixed-effects model with participant-specific intercept was used to examine intervention effects on percent WL at 4 and 12 months. Secondary analyses focused on program engagement and cost/kilogram of WL., Results: The study included a total of 437 participants who reported WL at 1 month (mean [SD] age, 50.8 [11.4] years; mean [SD] BMI, 34.6 [5.0]; 305 female [69.8%] and 132 male [30.2%]) with 148 randomized to extended coaching, 143 assigned to brief coaching, and 146 assigned to the control group. Of all participants, 346 (79.2%) were considered to have a suboptimal response. WL at 4 months was significantly greater in the extended coaching group (mean [SD] WL, -7.0% [5.1%]) and brief coaching group (mean [SD] WL, -6.2% [4.7%]) vs the control group (mean [SD] WL, -4.5% [4.7%]) (P < .001). Similarly, the proportion of participants achieving 5% or greater WL at 4 months was greater in the extended coaching group (89 participants [65.9%]) and brief coaching group (77 participants [58.5%]) vs control group (46 participants [36.5%]) (P < .001). At 12 months, a similar pattern was observed for achievement of 5% WL or greater (extended coaching, 63 participants [48.1%]; brief coaching, 58 participants [45.9%]; control, 38 participants [32.8%]; P = .03). Percent WL at 12 months was significantly higher in extended coaching vs control (mean [SD] WL for extended coaching, -5.5% [6.7%]; mean [SD] WL for control, -3.9% [7.4%]; P = .03) but not for brief coaching (mean [SD] WL, -4.9% [6.1%]).Both the brief and extended coaching groups watched more lessons and self-monitored on more days compared with the control group. The cost per additional kilogram of WL, beyond that of the control group, was $50.09 for brief coaching and $92.65 for extended coaching., Conclusions and Relevance: In this randomized clinical trial testing an adaptive intervention, the provision of coaching for individuals with suboptimal response improved WL and was cost-effective; further testing in clinical settings (eg, health care systems) is warranted., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03867981.

Objective: Review the subsequent impact of recommendations made by the 2004 American Surgical Association Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC I) Report on Surgical Education., Background: Current leaders of the American College of Surgeons and the American Surgical Association convened an expert panel to review the impact of the BRC I report and make recommendations for future improvements in surgical education., Methods: BRC I members reviewed the 2004 recommendations in light of the current status of surgical education., Results: Some of the recommendations of BRC I have gained traction and have been implemented. There is a well-organized national curriculum and numerous educational offerings. There has been greater emphasis on preparing faculty to teach and there are ample opportunities for professional advancement as an educator. The number of residents has grown, although not at a pace to meet the country's needs either by total number or geographic distribution. The number of women in the profession has increased. There is greater awareness and attention to resident (and faculty) well-being. The anticipated radical change in the educational scheme has not been adopted. Training in surgical research still depends on the resources and interests of individual programs. Financing student and graduate medical education remains a challenge., Conclusions: The medical landscape has changed considerably since BRC I published its findings in 2005. A contemporary assessment of surgical education and training is needed to meet the future needs of the profession and our patients., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Given that low early (4 weeks) weight loss (WL) predicts longer-term WL, the purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with poor early WL., Methods: 438 adults with overweight/obesity participating in an Internet-delivered behavioral WL program provided weights at baseline and 4 weeks. Participants were stratified by percent WL at 4 weeks: LOW: <2% WL, MEDIUM: 2 to <4% WL, HIGH: ≥4% WL and groups were compared on baseline variables (demographics, physical activity, and psychosocial measures) and 4-week intervention adherence., Results: 37.4%, 40.9%, and 21.7% of participants had LOW, MEDIUM, and HIGH early WL respectively. LOW was more likely to be female compared to HIGH and less likely to be non-Hispanic White compared to MEDIUM and HIGH (p's<0.05). After controlling for demographic differences, LOW had lower baseline physical activity compared to HIGH and watched fewer video lessons, self-monitored calorie intake and weight on fewer days, and were less likely to achieve the exercise goal compared to MEDIUM and HIGH (p's<0.05)., Conclusion: Findings can inform future adaptive interventions which tailor treatment based upon early WL to improve WL outcomes for more individuals., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement Drs. Unick and Thomas are on the Scientific Advisory Board of Medifast. Dr. Thomas reports participation on the scientific advisory board and consulting fees from Lummé Health, Inc., and Dr. Wing is on the Scientific Advisory Board of NOOM. All remaining authors have no relevant financial or non-financial conflicts of interest to report.