Weight gain prevention interventions in the Study of Novel Approaches to Weight Gain Prevention (SNAP) trial promote ideal cardiovascular health in young adults

Objective: Cardiovascular health (CVH) declines in young adulthood. This study assessed whether weight gain prevention interventions promoted ideal CVH.

Methods: Young adults (n = 599; age 18-35 years; BMI: 21.0-30.9 kg/m² ) from a randomized controlled trial comparing two weight gain prevention interventions (self-regulation with large or small changes) and a self-guided control group completed anthropometric and clinical assessments at baseline and 2 years. CVH was quantified via the American Heart Association's Life's Simple 7 (LS7) number of ideal components met.

Results: Both interventions showed significant improvements in the average number of ideal LS7 components met at 2 years compared with control (pre- to post-treatment means; large change: 0.24, small change: 0.34, control: -0.2, p < 0.05). Moreover, a greater percentage of participants in both interventions improved by ≥1 ideal component (large change: 35%, small change: 37%, control: 29%) and a smaller percentage declined by ≥1 ideal component (large change: 16%, small change: 20%, control: 30%) compared with control. For individual LS7 components, the odds of having an ideal BMI and glucose varied by treatment condition at 2 years.

Conclusions: Two weight gain prevention interventions led to improvements in ideal CVH at 2 years. Interventions explicitly focused on a broader constellation of LS7 domains might lead to even greater changes in CVH.