Firefighters fight fat: new coaching trial aims to slim down first responders
NCT ID NCT06890975
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether a 9-month lifestyle coaching program (individual and group sessions with a dietician) helps obese male firefighters lose weight and improve metabolic health. Fifty participants will be randomly assigned to coaching or usual care. The main outcomes are changes in body mass index, body fat, waist size, and waist-to-hip ratio.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- lifestyle coaching (individual and group sessions with a dietician)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could provide an effective weight-loss and health-improvement program tailored for firefighters.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small early-stage trial with only 50 participants, so results may not apply broadly. The intervention is behavioral, so success depends on individual adherence.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 50 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Apr 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 60 years
- Sex
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Male participants only
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Male firefighters aged 18-60 years * Currently active as volunteer or career firefighters * Body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m² based on self-reported height and weight * Express interest in participating in a clinical study aimed at improving body composition (weight loss), metabolic status, and quality of life * Residing and/or working in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, or Southern New Hampshire (Boston metro area) Exclusion Criteria: * Female sex\* * BMI \<30 kg/m² based on self-reported height and weight * Active psychosis * History or diagnosis (during the RCT) of any of the following: Major cardiovascular disease event (e.g., myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest, cerebrovascular accident) Cancer (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) Abnormal liver function (aminotransferase, bilirubin, or alkaline phosphatase ≥3× the upper limit of normal) Renal dysfunction (estimated glomerular filtration rate ≤30 mL/min/1.73 m²) * Current or recent (within 6 months) use of testosterone treatment or anti-obesity/obesogenic medications * Unwillingness to adhere to potential intervention assignments * Because this is an exploratory study, the number of subjects is limited, and men make up roughly 85% of the US fire service, the current proposal is limited to men. In future studies, we will include women firefighters.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Cambridge Health Alliance
Sommerville, Massachusetts, 02145, United States
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