Effectiveness of Activity Trackers to Reduce Sedentary Behaviour in Sedentary Adults (CWATLDP)

Hasselt University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Sedentary Lifestyle

Treatments: Device: CWAT intervention; Device: CWAT + motivation intervention group

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03853018

CWATLDP-001

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study evaluates the effectiveness of consumer wearable activity trackers to reduce sedentary behaviour and the impact on cardiometabolic health.

Full description

Chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes, are an important public health concern worldwide. Physical inactivity is one of the major contributing factors which is highly correlated with the prevalence of NCDs. On the other hand, it is well known that increased physical activity has significant health benefits and is associated with the prevention and delayed onset of many NCDs. Given the important role of physical activity in the prevention and management of NCDs it is thus important to promote physical activity. Hence, to date a multitude of physical activity recommendations and many supervised training interventions and rehabilitation programs are available to encourage physical activity in the global population. Despite this, a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that 23% of the adult and 80% of the adolescent population remains physically inactive. Here, long-term compliance to adequate physical activity and a healthy life style appears to be one of the main barriers explaining this discrepancy. Consequently, any strategy that improves long term adherence to adequate daily physical activity and a healthy life style, especially in an NCD population, is worthwhile investigating. In this respect and following the recent use of accelerometer-based remote monitoring of physical activity in chronic disease patients, consumer wearable activity trackers may be such a strategy. So far, consumer wearable activity trackers have been investigated mainly in the sports community. Here CWATs are used for self-monitoring and providing continuous sport performance and health related information to athletes and coaches. Interestingly, the self-management, motivational and goal setting properties of these commercially available devices may also help patients with NCDs to engage in long-term physical activity under free-living conditions in a home-based setting. Despite the widespread use of these wearables their feasibility and effectiveness on physical activity (compliance) and generic health-related outcomes, including weight, body mass index (BMI), systemic blood pressure and glycemic index, especially in patients with NCDs is not fully clear.

Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of CWATs to promote physical activity levels and cardiometabolic health in sedentary adults. A better understanding to what extent CWATs can actually improve physical activity (compliance) and health outcomes is important to increase the effectiveness and quality of health care in chronic disease populations.

Enrollment: 60 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 40 to 75 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Sedentary adults
• 40-75 years,
• <7500steps/day,
• sitting time of >10h/day,
• BMI 23-30 kg/m2,
• body fat percentage: male: 18-25%, female: 25-35%
• HbA1c < 6.0%

Exclusion criteria

• pregnancy,
• regularly (>150 min per week during the last four months) engaged in moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise,
• any known contradiction for physical activity,
• systolic blood pressure >160mmHg,
• diastolic blood pressure >100mmHg
• more than 20 alcohol consumptions per week,
• plans to follow a weight reduction program with the aid of an energy restriction diet or a physical intervention program during the study period,
• participants diagnosed with any known chronic disease.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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60 participants in 3 patient groups

Control group

No Intervention group

Description:

The control group is instructed to continue their habitual daily physical activity patterns and sedentary behaviour

CWAT intervention group

Experimental group

Description:

The CWAT group will receive the activity tracker. Subjects will receive inactivity alerts after 1 hour of inactivity to break up sitting time and avoid prolonged sitting. During the interruptions they will be asked to walk for several minutes.

Treatment:

Device: CWAT intervention

CWAT + motivation intervention group

Experimental group

Description:

Subjects randomised into the CWATLDP intervention will receive the activity tracker and will be stimulated with the aid of coaching sessions and goal setting.

Treatment:

Device: CWAT + motivation intervention group

Device: CWAT intervention