The "Say No" study - a study to reduce indulgent foods in adults.

INTERVENTION: Intervention group one will make ratings of their hunger motivation, mood, control of eating and food cravings in the exact same way as the comparator group. In addition they will be instructed to self‐monitor the number of times they have “said no” to an indulgent food/ beverage and what they have “said no” to (self‐defined indulgences) recording it each day in a booklet. Participants will receive a leaflet of how to say no to food pushers developed by the research team (led by a clinical psychologist). This leaflet provides strategies of how to say No and gives specific examples for situations e.g. if there is cake offered at work. This brief intervention will be delivered by a member of the research team who has received training by the PI (PhD in behavioural medicine). The research team consists of a dietician and research assistant although as this is a brief behavioural intervention no specific qualifications are needed. The intervention is a brief intervention and will be explained at the first visit (30 minutes)and participants will be asked to complete this for 8 weeks. Previous research has shown that people snack on average 14 times per week, and thus we will ask participants to “say no” to indulgent foods and beverages seven times per week (thus forming implementation intentions, and prompting goal setting). This is an extract of the script we will use to explain the intervention: “As we live in an environment where there are many opportunities to eat and drink sometimes we need to “say no” to indulgent foods and drinks to control our weight. Therefore we are asking you to “say no” seven times across the week. You can decide which indulgences you would like to “say no” to as we don’t want to be prescriptive because everyone’s eating behaviours are different. We also don’t want you to “say no” to everything as that would be very hard to continue with in the longer term. It also means that you can still have indulgences but control how many indulgences you have. “Saying No” could be to something that is offered to you e.g. a slice of cake at work. It could also be if an opportunity presents its self, e.g. if you are at the café counter ordering a coffee and you consider purchasing a sausage roll or croissant but decide to “say no”. We also know that by writing down when you “say no” helps promote self‐control. Therefore we would you like to record it in the booklet provided.” Intervention group two will have further support in the form of feedback, and will receive the same intervention as group one but will also be asked to send a photograph or detailed description of what they have successfully “said no” to via text message (self‐monitoring of behaviour). Participants will then receive feedback about how many kilojoules they have saved by “saying no”. (The number of kilojoules avoided will be calculated using the Foodworks programme). Investigators will have three hours to response to a text message if during work hours and 15 hours to respond outside of work hours and on weekends The text messages will be tailored by name and appropriate calories to the individual as this is associated with greater behaviour change than generic messages CONDITION: overweight SECONDARY OUTCOME: The number of participants completing the online questionnaires and follow‐up rates will be examined descriptively by group allocation. Assessment of feasibility INCLUSION CRITERIA: Participants must be aged greater than or equal ro 18 years with a BMI greater than or equal to 25 kg/m2 Participants would like to reduce the number of indulgent foods and drinks they have. PRIMARY OUTCOME: The participants will be asked to record the number of self‐defined indulgences for seven days prior to attending the baseline appointment and for seven days starting at week seven (end of intervention). Participants will be asked to record the time of the indulgence and a description of the indulgence. The primary outcome is the change in the number of indulgences between the intervention groups and control group. ; In this trial the recruitment rate, feasibility of delivering the intervention, the acceptance of the control intervention, intervention adherence and questionnaire completion rates will be measured. Change in control of eating questionnaire score Change in self‐regulation as measured by the short self‐regulation questionnaire, The acceptability of the psychometric questionnaires will be examined by identifying missing data. ; The adherence to the intervention will be measured through the self‐monitoring records. The average numbers of text messages sent by group two, and the number of replies will be reported. The number of individuals assessed for eligibility and the number randomised will be calculated as an estimate of the recruitment rate required for the full trial.