Researchers at Stanford Medical School are conducting a research study to find out: When is the best time to learn weight maintenance skills? Before or after losing weight?

Interested women will be randomly assigned to one of two 6-month weight-loss programs. In one program, women will learn maintenance skills before losing weight. In the other, women will learn maintenance skills after losing weight. Our past research shows that women who complete the weight-loss program lose an average of 20 pounds. There is no charge for the weight-loss programs.

This study is seeking women who:

• Are 21 years or older
• Have a body weight that falls within the range on the chart at right
• Are free of heart disease
• Do not have diabetes
• Are not pregnant or planning to become pregnant in the next year and a half
• Are able and willing to be physically active
• Are not currently taking weight-loss medication
• Are not currently enrolled in a weight-loss program (e.g., Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig) or a support group (e.g., Overeaters Anonymous)
• Are willing to be randomly assigned (like flipping a coin) to either program
• Have access to the Internet
• Are interested in attending classes offered in English
• Are available to attend classes two days a week (for example, Tuesday and Thursday), although participants will be randomly assigned to one class day a week
• Are able to attend all of the first 10 classes (week of March 30th, 2009 to week of June 1st, 2009), and only miss up to 3 of the remaining classes (week of June 8th, 2009 to week of October 5th, 2009)

Women will be required to:

• Attend weekly classes from 6:15-8:00 pm for six months (week of March 30th, 2009 to week of October 5th, 2009) at the Stanford Prevention Research Center in Palo Alto, CA
• Complete four 3-hour assessments (i.e., clinic visits and questionnaires) once every six months over the next year and a half

• If you are interested, take our brief screening questionnaire to determine your eligibility.


• Please email our study staff at freshstart@stanford.edu if you have any problems with the Web screen.