Mighty Men: A Faith-Based Weight Loss Program to Address Cancer Disparities

Mighty Men is a 6-month faith-based weight-loss intervention for obese African American men
35-74 years old. The investigators will conduct this intervention in African American
faith-based organizations because these organizations have the opportunity to consistently
reach more African American men than any other institution in the African American community.
African American faith-based organizations have historically served as a trusted institution
for filling gaps in health and social services, including cancer prevention and control
programs, within their natural role and function in the African American community.
Additionally, African American faith-based organizations are important resources and sources
of information for large numbers of middle-aged and older African American men, including
those who are not members of a faith-based organization. Though African American men attend
faith-based organization's at lower rates than African American women, men constitute 40% of
the congregation membership among the largest denominations serving African Americans. Mighty
Men will be tested in Atlanta, GA.

Mighty Men includes: (a) tailored goals/ messages, (b) self-monitoring, (c) small group
training and education and (d) educational and community-based information and resources.
There are three specific aims for the proposed study:

Specific Aim 1 is to compare the efficacy of Mighty Men to an attention control group in a
cluster-randomized clinical trial of 448 African American men. The investigators hypothesize
that men in faith-based organizations assigned to the intervention group will have lost more
weight than men in faith-based organizations assigned to the comparison group at 6-months,
and they will maintain greater weight loss than men in the control group 3-months post
intervention.

Specific Aim 2 is to compare changes in cancer risk behaviors (e.g., healthy eating and
physical activity), adiposity measures (e.g., body fat), and psychosocial mediators (e.g.,
perceived social support, autonomous motivation) at 6-months and 3-months post intervention
between Mighty Men and comparison participants. The investigators hypothesize that men
assigned to Mighty Men will demonstrate and maintain greater improvements in eating and
physical activity and psychosocial mediators than those randomized to the attention control
group.

Specific Aim 3 is to examine the impact of Mighty Men on the faith-based organizations that
participate in the intervention. The investigators will conduct a rigorous process and impact
evaluation to determine the extent of program reach, efficacy, adoption, implementation and
maintenance (RE-AIM) in African American faith-based organizations in the intervention
condition. Also, investigators hypothesize that faith-based organizations assigned to the
intervention will demonstrate greater perceived efficacy to conduct and sustain health
ministries for African American men and improvements in all areas of the RE-AIM framework
than faith-based organizations randomized to the comparison group.

Inclusion Criteria:

- 35-74 at enrollment

- Black/African American

- Male; Less than 400 pounds

- BMI: 30-50

- Fluent in english

- provides informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

- Pre-existing condition that prohibits at least moderate physical activity

- Serious medical condition that is likely to hinder accurate measurement of weight

- a condition for which weight loss is contraindicated

- a condition that would cause weight loss

- Prior or planned bariatric surgery

- Chronic use of medications that are likely to cause weight gain or cause weight loss

- No cell phone or land-line phone

- Participant in another obesity, eating or physical activity program or study
-Psychiatric hospitalization in the past 12 months