The Influence of Health Literacy on Reach, Retention, and Success in a Worksite Weight Loss Program.

ABSTRACT Purpose. To examine if employee health literacy (HL) status moderated reach, retention, and weight outcomes in a worksite weight loss program. Design. The study was a two-group cluster randomized controlled weight loss trial. Setting. The study was conducted in 28 worksites. Subjects. Subjects comprised 1460 employees with a body mass index >25 kg/m2. Interventions. Two 12-month weight loss interventions targeted diet and physical activity behaviors: incentaHEALTH (INCENT; incentivized individually targeted Internet-based intervention) and Livin' My Weigh (LMW; less-intense quarterly newsletters). Measures. A validated three-item HL screening measure was self-completed at baseline. Weight was objectively assessed with the Health Spot scale at baseline and 12-month follow-up. Analysis. The impact of HL on program effectiveness was assessed through fixed-effect parametric models that controlled for individual (i.e., age, gender, race, ethnicity, income, education) and worksite fixed effects. Result...