Table 1.

Metrics used to help identify high priority constructs and measures for the Behavioral Domain

Metric considered
Importance or impact of the construct: a subjective assessment of the importance of the construct in increasing the understanding of behavioral factors and their association with weight loss or maintenance
Potential role of the construct: an assessment of how the construct has previously been used in the analysis for weight change or maintenance research; specifically, has the construct been used as a predictor, moderator, mediator or for multiple analytic purposes?
Quality of measure: the extent to which the psychometric properties (including estimates of reliability and validity) of the constructs are reported in the literature and the robustness of the properties within and across studies
Source of evidence: the types of weight loss or maintenance studies that have used the construct. Randomized control trials (RCTs) with a weight-related primary outcome provide the strongest evidence for using the constructs; followed by RCTS with weight-related behaviors as the primary outcome; followed by longitudinal studies using weight or weight-related behavioral outcomes; followed by cross-sectional studies with weight or weight-related behavioral outcomes. Studies that posit a theoretical relationship (T) between the construct and weight or a weight related outcome but with no empirical evidence provide the weakest evidence.
Strength of evidence: a subjective rating of the strength of the evidence for the construct including considerations of effect size between the construct and the weight related outcome, the robustness of the associations found and the extent to which associations have been replicated across studies.
Feasibility-Researcher expertise: a subjective rating of the need for specialized training for researchers using the measure, including specialized training related to data collection or data analyses
Feasibility-Cost and logistics: a subjective rating of the cost (including financial, specialized training for staff required, participant burden) and the logistics (including measurement schedule required, special equipment or space needs, special needs to maximize participant participation such as transportation or child care)
Suitable study size: an estimate of the how many participants are required in the sample (large study-(>200 participants; medium study-100–200 participants; or small study-<100 participants) for a meaningful estimate of the construct being measured