A peer-supported, technology-based weight-loss program built for people living with serious mental illness — proven in a randomized trial, and coming to a VA near you.
Learn moreAbout
CoachToFit pairs simple remote technology with weekly, one-on-one coaching from a VA Peer Specialist. Participants get a smartphone app, a fitness tracker, and a Bluetooth scale that track steps, weight, and goals — alongside a structured curriculum of education modules on nutrition and physical activity. A coaching dashboard puts each participant's progress in front of their peer coach, so support is personal and consistent.
Every detail is built for accessibility: plain visuals, simple navigation, and minimal text, so the program is easy to participate in and easy to deliver. The result is a model that meets people where they are — at home, on their own phone, with a real person in their corner.
In a randomized controlled trial, CoachToFit participants lost twice as much weight as those in usual care and became measurably more active. Backed by those results, the program is now being prepared to roll out VA-wide — with a nationwide network of roughly 1,300 VA Peer Specialists ready to be trained. The goal is simple: make this proven intervention available at a VA near you, soon.
The team
Matthew Chinman, PhD
Principal Investigator
VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System · RAND Corporation
CoachToFit was developed at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System with co-investigators across the University of Pittsburgh, RAND Corporation, and the American Psychiatric Association, and supported by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
In collaboration with
