EXercise Continuation Incorporating Technology Enhancements (EXCITE) Study

University of California San Francisco (UCSF)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Physical Inactivity

Treatments: Behavioral: Technology support for behavior change; Behavioral: participation in online social network; Behavioral: unblinded accelerometer; Behavioral: participation in study website; Behavioral: ChiRunning training

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02059382

13-10688

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to inform the integration of mobile and social media components into larger interventions aimed at increasing adherence and maintenance of physical activity. Nearly half of the US population do not meet physical activity recommendations of ≥150 minutes of moderate activity per week. The use of smartphones to "self track" data and upload that data to an online social network is becoming increasingly common and may be an effective way to motivate physical activity adherence and maintenance. We are proposing a two phase study to develop and evaluate a mobile health ("mHealth") intervention that includes the use of two existing technologies: 1) the RunKeeper mobile app to collect and upload exercise data (distance, pace, time), and 2) the RunKeeper.com online social network as a place to analyze uploaded data and engage with a coach and online community. Phase 1 (n=10) will iteratively develop the mHealth intervention and phase 2 (n=30) will pilot the mHealth intervention (participants will be randomized to either mHealth intervention (n=20) or control (n=10)) to collect feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy data. All participants will attend a day-long ChiWalk/Run training to help them avoid potential injuries and meet their coach and community in-person. All participants will also be asked to wear a FitBit accelerometer from one week before the beginning of the intervention through one week after the end of the intervention to collect total physical activity data. This data will be uploaded automatically to the study data base. Primary outcomes will be total physical activity as collected by the FitBit accelerometer (and the RunKeeper mobile app for the intervention group) and secondary outcomes will be changes in psychological factors that may mediate adherence to physical activity.

Enrollment: 40 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 75 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• healthy underactive adults interested in using mobile and web based technologies to increase their physical activity
• low risk of cardiovascular disease
• comfortable reading and communicating in English
• owns a smartphone and is does not regularly use a fitness tracking mobile app
• has regular access to the internet and a wireless connection for data uploading.

Exclusion criteria

• currently meeting/exceeding recommend 450 MET min per week
• previous condition that would contraindicate regular moderate to vigorous physical activity

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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40 participants in 2 patient groups

Control

Active Comparator group

Description:

ChiRunning training Weekly training log Blinded accelerometer

Treatment:

Behavioral: ChiRunning training

Technology support for behavior change

Experimental group

Description:

ChiRunning training unblinded accelerometer tracking structured exercise using mobile app participation in online social network participation in study website

Treatment:

Behavioral: Technology support for behavior change

Behavioral: unblinded accelerometer

Behavioral: participation in study website

Behavioral: ChiRunning training

Behavioral: participation in online social network