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Prevention of excess gain.
J Stevens1, K P Truesdale, C-H Wang
1Department of Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. June_Stevens@unc.edu
International Journal of Obesity (2005)
|August 12, 2009
Summary
Obesity prevention trials face challenges with traditional metrics. This study introduces "excess gain" as a novel metric, demonstrating its potential for greater statistical power and clearer public health messaging for weight management.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Biostatistics
- Obesity Research
Background:
- Obesity prevention trials aim to promote healthy weight.
- Current success metrics include means, incidence, and prevalence.
- These traditional metrics have conceptual limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify shortcomings in existing obesity prevention trial metrics.
- To introduce and evaluate an alternative metric: 'excess gain'.
- To demonstrate the utility of 'excess gain' in public health communication.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of existing metrics.
- Introduction of the 'excess gain' metric.
- Mathematical demonstration using simulated data.
Main Results:
- Identified conceptual limitations in means, incidence, and prevalence metrics.
- Proposed 'excess gain' as a novel metric for obesity prevention.
- Simulated data showed 'excess gain' potentially offers superior statistical power compared to incidence and prevalence.
Conclusions:
- The 'excess gain' metric offers a conceptually sound alternative for assessing obesity prevention trials.
- 'Excess gain' provides a clear and universally applicable public health message for weight management.
- Further research is warranted to validate 'excess gain' in real-world trial settings.
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