Optimizing Sedentary Behavior Interventions to Affect Acute Physiological Changes

University of California San Diego

Status: Completed

Conditions: Sedentary Behavior

Treatments: Behavioral: Sedentary behavior

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02544867

HRPP Project #130817

Details and patient eligibility

About

An emerging body of epidemiological evidence suggests that various forms of sedentary behavior, including TV viewing, occupational sitting, and total daily sitting, may be associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, overweight and obesity, type 2 diabetes, depression and psychological well-being. Importantly, many of these associations were independent of participation in moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity. We propose a pilot study to assess the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy of two interventions targeting sedentary behavior. Since it is currently unknown what component of sedentary behavior exposure presents the greatest risk to health, we propose separate interventions to reduce overall sedentary time and to promote breaks in sedentary time.

Full description

Primary aim: To determine the acceptability and feasibility of selected personal, social and environmental strategies to reduce overall sitting time and increase the number of times participants stand up in a day.

Secondary aim: To assess whether existing and new measurement approaches can detect specific changes in sedentary behavior.

Exploratory aim: To establish whether specified intervention strategies were efficacious in reducing sedentary behavior and whether intervention effects were specific to the targeted sedentary behavior construct (e.g. decreased overall sitting time or increased number of breaks in sitting).

Enrollment: 30 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 50 to 70 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. Males or females 50 -70 years of age
2. Able to attend 4 measurement visits with study staff in 3 consecutive weeks
3. Spend at least 8 hours per day sitting
4. Willing and able to wear study device for 21 days
5. Able to read and write in English
6. Able to provide written informed consent

Exclusion criteria

1. Do not sit for at least 8 hours per day
2. Unable to attend 4 visits
3. Diagnosis of serious chronic condition that would limit the ability to stand

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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30 participants in 2 patient groups

Reduction in sitting time

Experimental group

Description:

Those randomized to this condition focused on reducing their overall sitting time by two hours per day (a goal achieved in similar studies \[17,18\] that represented approximately a 25% reduction in daily sitting time). Participants were encouraged to reach this goal by standing in bouts of roughly 10 minutes per hour. The purpose of this arm was to investigate whether we could replicate improvements in sitting time achieved in other worksite studies in our cohort of older adults, which included both workers and non-workers.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Sedentary behavior

Increase in sit-to-stand transitions

Experimental group

Description:

Those randomized to the sit-to-stand condition focused on increasing the number of sit-to-stand transitions they performed throughout the day with a goal of adding 30 additional transitions per day. Previous studies have not succeeded in increasing the number of sit-to-stand transitions in older adults, possibly because they focused on reducing overall sitting time, encouraged longer standing breaks and did not provide a specific goal for sit-to-stand transitions \[26-28\]. An increase in sit-to-stand transitions would not be expected with an increase standing intervention alone, as prolonged standing reduces the opportunity for sit-to-stand transitions.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Sedentary behavior