Development of a Telehealth Obesity Intervention for Patients With MS: Modifying Diet and Exercise in MS

Inclusion Criteria

• •(a) a diagnosis of relapsing-remitting, secondary progressive, or primary progressive MS based on established guidelines and verified by medical chart review (b) between the ages of 18-70 (c) access to a telephone (d) English-speaking (e) ability to walk 25 feet without assistance and no severe sensory or motor impairment that would limit participation or present serious medical risks (f) no medically confirmed relapse in the past month (g) no history of dementia or severe cognitive difficulties that would limit participation (h) WHtR \>.57 or BMI \>29 (i) no history of bariatric surgery (j) no history of food allergies or need for a special diet preventing consumption of the recommended diet (k) no concurrent ongoing behavioral or pharmacological weight loss interventions (l) no history of insulin dependent diabetes or serious pulmonary/cardiac conditions (m) weight stability with no history of \>10 pounds weight loss or gain in the 3 months prior to study participation (n) no planned or recent joint replacement surgeries (o) no serious psychiatric disorder (e.g. schizophrenia), current suicidal ideation, or current binge eating disorder as these patients may not be good candidates for behavioral weight loss programs (p) no current medical conditions where weight loss is contraindicated, as indicated by the participant's primary care physician (q) no contraindications to exercise (answer "no" to all 7 questions on Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire; PAR-Q114) or physician approval to exercise if answer "yes" to 1 or more questions on PAR-Q. -