Do Text Message Reminders Increase Preoperative Exercise in Obesity Surgery Candidates?

University of Auckland, New Zealand

Status and phase: Completed; Phase 3

Conditions: Perioperative Care; Bariatric Surgery; Obesity

Treatments: Behavioral: Daily text message reminders

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01607177

Bariatric Prehabilitation

Details and patient eligibility

About

Preoperative exercise has been shown to improve physiological and functional capacity in patients undergoing abdominal surgery to prepare them for the stress of surgery. Patients undergoing bariatric surgery are advised to partake in regular preoperative exercise. In the setting of bariatric surgery, as well as preparing patients for the stress of surgery, it is also thought to increase the likelihood that they will exercise postoperatively. However, compliance to this advice is extremely low. Text-message interventions have been shown to improve compliance to other lifestyle interventions. The investigators will compare the rate of compliance to preoperative exercise prior to bariatric surgery in patients who receive a daily text message to those who do not. The investigators will also compare weight loss.

Enrollment: 102 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 20 to 60 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Patients having laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy at Manukau Surgery Centre
• Operation used primarily for the treatment of morbid obesity

Exclusion criteria

• Operation not performed at Manukau Surgery Centre
• Patient does not have a mobile phone which can receive text messages

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

---

102 participants in 2 patient groups

Text message group

Experimental group

Description:

Patients randomised to this group will receive daily text message reminders used to motivate them to exercise in the preoperative period. They will also receive an exercise information sheet to complement the text messages.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Daily text message reminders

No text message group

No Intervention group

Description:

Patients randomised to this group will receive standardised exercise advice but will not receive the text message reminders or the exercise information sheet.