Weight management is a serious issue for individuals with mental health conditions, especially those who are taking psychiatric medications. The latest estimates are that over half of individuals receiving community mental health services are overweight or obese. This project's objective is to conduct a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of an intervention called Nutrition and Exercise for Wellness and Recovery (NEW-R) in promoting healthy eating and increased physical activity for better weight management among psychiatric outpatients living and working in the community. It is an 8-week, recovery-oriented intervention that is co-led by a trained health educator and a certified mental health peer specialist. The study will take place at the UIC Department of Psychiatry in Chicago. Research participants will be recruited from the Department's outpatient clinics and other community programs, and randomly assigned to receive NEW-R along with services as usual or services as usual alone.
The purpose of this study is to conduct a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of an intervention called Nutrition and Exercise for Wellness and Recovery (NEW-R) in promoting healthy eating and increased physical activity for better weight management among psychiatric outpatients.