Trial reportBMJ open2020
Game of Stones: feasibility randomised controlled trial of how to engage men with obesity in text message and incentive interventions for weight loss.
Trial report in BMJ open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03040518 (Feasibility Study of How Best to Engage Obese Men in Narrative SMS), which is not on this map. Cited by 23 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Feasibility Study of How Best to Engage Obese Men in Narrative SMS (Short Message System) and Incentive Interventions for Weight Loss, to Inform a Future Effectiveness and Cost-effectiveness Trial
Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Enhancing Weight Loss Programs: A Meta-Analysis of Financial Incentives and Behavior Change Techniques.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026Pooled it
- Evaluation of the Aspects of Digital Interventions That Successfully Support Weight Loss: Systematic Review With Component Network Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- User Engagement With mHealth Interventions to Promote Treatment Adherence and Self-Management in People With Chronic Health Conditions: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Incentives for Improving Diabetes-Related Health Indicators in Chronic Disease Lifestyle Modification Programs: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Preventing chronic disease · 2022Pooled it
- A systematic review examining socioeconomic factors in trials of interventions for men that report weight as an outcome.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2022Pooled it
- Secondary analysis of the Game of Stones trial for men with obesity: examining moderator effects and exploratory outcomes.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2025Trial
- Behaviour change intervention (education and text) to prevent dental caries in secondary school pupils: BRIGHT RCT, process and economic evaluation.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2024Trial
- Promoting smoking cessation during pregnancy: A feasibility and pilot trial of a digital storytelling intervention delivered via text-messaging.Patient education and counseling · 2022Trial
- Randomized controlled trial of financial incentives during weight-loss induction and maintenance in online group weight control.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2022Trial
- Recruiting men from across the socioeconomic spectrum via GP registers and community outreach to a weight management feasibility randomised controlled trial.BMC medical research methodology · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Tailoring in eHealth lifestyle interventions targeting people with cardiometabolic conditions and lower socioeconomic position: A scoping review.PLOS digital health · 2026Article
- Understanding factors affecting engagement with food-related services in areas of deprivation: A mixed-methods approach.Journal of health psychology · 2026Article
- Article
- Are there inequalities in the attendance at and effectiveness of behavioural weight management interventions for adults in the UK? An individual participant data meta-analysis.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- Smartphones and Web 2.0. interventions for weight management.Frontiers in digital health · 2025Review
- Acceptability of a Self-Guided Lifestyle Intervention Among Young Men: Mixed Methods Analysis of Pilot Findings.JMIR formative research · 2024Article
- Keeping Active with Texting after Stroke (KATS): development of a text message intervention to promote physical activity and exercise after stroke.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2023Article
- Semaglutide in Obesity: Unmet Needs in Men.Diabetes therapy : research, treatment and education of diabetes and related disorders · 2023Article
- The health informatics centre: a safe haven and trusted research environment enabling world-leading research.International journal of population data science · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
18 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesTo examine the acceptability and feasibility of narrative text messages with or without financial incentives to support weight loss for men.
designIndividually randomised three-arm feasibility trial with 12 months' follow-up.
settingTwo sites in Scotland with high levels of disadvantage according to Scottish Index for Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).
participantsMen with obesity (n=105) recruited through community outreach and general practitioner registers.
interventionsParticipants randomised to: (A) narrative text messages plus financial incentive for 12 months (short message service (SMS)+I), (B) narrative text messages for 12 months (SMS only), or (C) waiting list control. OUTCOMES: Acceptability and feasibility of recruitment, retention, intervention components and trial procedures assessed by analysing quantitative and qualitative data at 3, 6 and 12 months.
results105 men were recruited, 60% from more disadvantaged areas (SIMD quintiles 1 or 2). Retention at 12 months was 74%. Fewer SMS+I participants (64%) completed 12-month assessments compared with SMS only (79%) and control (83%). Narrative texts were acceptable to many men, but some reported negative reactions. No evidence emerged that level of disadvantage was related to acceptability of narrative texts. Eleven SMS+I participants (31%) successfully met or partially met weight loss targets. The cost of the incentive per participant was £81.94 (95% CI £34.59 to £129.30). Incentives were acceptable, but improving health was reported as the key motivator for weight loss. All groups lost weight (SMS+I: -2.51 kg (SD=4.94); SMS only: -1.29 kg (SD=5.03); control: -0.86 kg (SD=5.64) at 12 months).
conclusionsThis three-arm weight management feasibility trial recruited and retained men from across the socioeconomic spectrum, with the majority from areas of disadvantage, was broadly acceptable to most participants and feasible to deliver. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03040518.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.