UMass Chan Launches National Collaborating Centre to Study Digital Lifestyle Interventions for People Using GLP-1 Medications

Key Takeaways: 

• A major trial at UMass Chan will test whether a digital lifestyle change programme enhances outcomes for people using GLP-1 therapies to manage obesity, diabetes or cardiovascular disease.
  
• The work launches a new CDC-funded centre dedicated to lifestyle change implementation research, with a four-year award of 2 million dollars.
  
• Researchers aim to strengthen scientific evidence on how structured lifestyle interventions can support people taking GLP-1 medicines in real-world settings, including effects on physical activity, diet, muscle mass, adherence and quality of life.
  
  

Launch of a new national collaborating centre

UMass Chan Medical School has initiated a large research programme to examine whether a digital lifestyle change intervention can improve outcomes for people using GLP-1 therapies to manage obesity, diabetes or cardiovascular disease. This project marks the launch of the Lifestyle Change Implementation Research Network Collaborating Center at UMass Chan’s Prevention Research Center. The centre is supported by a four-year, 2 million-dollar award from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The project is jointly led by Jamie Faro, PhD, assistant professor of population and quantitative health sciences, and Stephenie C. Lemon, PhD, the Barbara Helen Smith Chair in Preventive and Behavioural Medicine, professor of population and quantitative health sciences, chief of the Division of Preventive and Behavioural Medicine, and co-director of the Prevention Research Center at UMass Chan.

Understanding the early experience of people using GLP-1 therapies

Dr Faro said: “We are going to look at what patients using GLP-1s are experiencing from early on in their journey, including changes in physical activity, diet, skeletal muscle mass, side-effect management, medication adherence and quality of life. We are hopeful this study addresses how lifestyle change interventions can impact these areas when implemented alongside patient’s medication.”

The research team intends to evaluate how a structured, digitally delivered programme may support people who are navigating the rapid physiological and behavioural changes often associated with GLP-1 therapy.

Study design and participant experience

Recruitment is expected to begin in early 2026, focusing on people living in the Worcester area. The study will enrol 220 participants and compare outcomes for individuals using the Noom Weight digital lifestyle change programme and Noom’s GLP-1 Companion with those receiving standard care. People who are allocated to standard care will have the option of accessing the digital intervention once the study concludes.

Participants in both groups will receive a wearable device to monitor physical activity over an eight-month period. They will also complete a series of lifestyle and health questionnaires, including dietary recalls. The dietary assessments will be led by co-investigator Sabrina Noel, PhD, RD, associate professor of biomedical and nutritional sciences and director of the Center for Population Health and the Health Assessment Laboratory at UMass Lowell.

Building the evidence base for real-world practice

Dr Faro emphasised the lack of robust data on how structured lifestyle change programmes can support people in real-world settings. She said: “There needs to be more scientific evidence on how lifestyle change interventions can support patients’ needs in real-world settings. The team laid the groundwork for this project by conducting pilot projects in UMass Memorial Health clinics, funded by the UMass Chan Ambulatory Research Consortium and the Mel Cutler pilot award in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences.”

The project will also investigate how lifestyle interventions can be implemented across different levels of the health system, including within clinical settings and by providers and payors.

Addressing risks and supporting long-term needs

Dr Lemon highlighted the importance of ensuring people using GLP-1 therapies receive appropriate lifestyle support. She said: “We want to establish evidence that can be applicable in other contexts that helps patients understand and engage in these necessary lifestyle interventions. Otherwise, we are going to have a population of GLP-1 users who lose weight but lose their muscle mass or have other issues that could be helped with lifestyle interventions, or who come off these meds and need additional support as they regain weight.”

A national network with shared goals

UMass Chan is one of four funded sites to receive a Lifestyle Change Interventions Research Network Coordinating Center Special Interest Project award from the CDC. The other sites include the University of Utah, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of South Carolina. Each site is conducting its own research project tailored to the evidence gaps identified by the CDC and to the needs of its local population.

The new centre at UMass Chan will collaborate closely with the CDC’s Coordinating Center and with Prevention Research Centers across the national network. Together they aim to advance research and practical implementation, with a focus on sustainable, evidence-based lifestyle change interventions to reduce obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and related chronic conditions.

Dr Lemon summarised the broader ambition of the network: “The goal of the network is to bring together researchers and practitioners from across the country who are interested in this field, with a goal of building knowledge and capacity for implementing advanced weight loss interventions and potentially doing small scale additional research studies that fill evidence gaps in partnership between researchers and practitioners.”