A randomized trial investigating the effect of a brief lifestyle intervention on freshman-year weight gain.

Objective: The current study was a randomized controlled trial investigating the effect of an innovative, short-term lifestyle intervention on weight gain in female freshman college students.
Participants: Ninety-five freshmen were recruited from a large public university in the United States.
Methods: Participants completed baseline assessments and were randomized to a 5-session, 4-week intervention or wait-list control, with assessments at posttest and 3-month follow-up.
Results: The hypothesized time by group interaction was not significant, p = .393; however, trends suggested that control participants maintained baseline weight, whereas intervention participants lost -2.07 kg by posttest but regained 1.05 kg at follow-up. Significantly more intervention participants (47.0%) decreased their daily caloric intake by ≥ 200 kcal compared with control (31.7%), p = .050.
Conclusion: Brief intervention to prevent weight gain was not effective in this sample. Future studies should investigate lengthening the intervention to enhance effectiveness and increasing recruitment to improve statistical power.