Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To determine the feasibility and acceptability of integrating Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS), a national nonprofit weight-loss program through which people have lost a clinically significant amount of weight, into a community program that serves African Americans (AAs) and to determine weight change. DESIGN: Single-group pilot design. SETTING: Denver, Colorado. PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling participants aged 51 to 85. INTERVENTION: Participants were recruited through a program that serves AAs, and new TOPS chapters were started at a church, senior center, and senior residence for independent living. MEASUREMENTS: Feasibility was measured by determining the ease of recruitment and acceptability was measured according to retention. The secondary outcome was weight change. RESULTS: Sixty-four percent of people who were referred to the program or attended an information session participated in the study. The retention rate at 52 weeks was 79%. At 52 weeks, 16 of 48 participants had lost 5% or more of their initial weight, and 23 had lost 0% to 4.9% of their initial weight. CONCLUSIONS: Recruiting AA women through the Center for African American Health was feasible, and the program was acceptable. One-third of participants lost a clinically significant amount of weight. TOPS may be one way to combat the health disparity of obesity in AA women.