PlayFit Pilot: Encouraging Social Physical Play in the Community

Penn State Health

Status: Completed

Conditions: Overweight and Obesity

Treatments: Behavioral: PlayFit - modified exercise games

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02944370

4785

Details and patient eligibility

About

The investigator is pilot testing the feasibility and impact of a low-cost intervention that uses existing gymnasiums, and therefore has the potential to be replicated across the United States. The intervention, PlayFit, is designed for adults aged 21-50. PlayFit has five key components, intended to overcome the major barriers to physical activity. First, it will assist people in finding others to play with, using the Pick-Up model of designating times to play and making those times known in the community. Second, it will overcome a lack of confidence in physical activity by including games of lower intensity for relatively unfit adults, then building up to moderate and vigorous games. Third, it will require team members of varying ages and genders to encourage intergenerational play. Fourth, it will use modified equipment (e.g., softer, lighter balls) and smaller game space to require less running, so that even relatively unfit people can feel confident participating. Fifth, it will be designed to be led by community volunteers, which will increase its disseminability.

AIM - Understand the optimum design for PlayFit. To meet this aim, the investigators will come up with a list of games to play and pilot the games at a gymnasium. The investigators will observe the participants playing the games and have them complete a brief survey.

Enrollment: 8 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 21 to 50 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Age 21-50
• Fluently read and speak English
• Current member of Hershey Medical Center's University Fitness Center OR willing to become a member
• Currently exercises < 150 minutes per week

Exclusion criteria

• Has been told by a doctor they a heart condition and should only do exercise recommended by a doctor
• Currently pregnant or planning to become pregnant in the next 6 months
• Planning to move out of the area in the next 6 months
• Has pain in chest, neck, jaw, or arms at rest, during daily activities of living
• Has experienced a forceful or rapid heart rate
• Has experience unreasonable breathlessness
• Has experienced dizziness fainting or blackouts
• Has experienced ankle swelling
• Has burning or cramping sensation in lower legs when walking short distances
• Has been told by a health professional not to exercise OR exercise only when supervised by a professional
• Has been diagnosed with diabetes
• Has been told by a doctor, nurse or health professional that they have (1) Weak or failing kidneys, (2) A heart attack/ myocardial infarction, (3) Angina or coronary heart disease, (4) A stroke, or (5) Any other kind of heart condition or heart disease - e.g. heart valve problem/aortic regurgitation (do not include heart murmur)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

---

8 participants in 1 patient group

PlayFit, Modified exercise games

Experimental group

Description:

Subjects will participate in three 60 minute game sessions each week for 12 weeks. During each game session, subjects will be divided randomly into two teams to play a modified game. Research staff will review the instructions of the game and if needed, modify the game rules during play to enhance the experience (ie. keep it fun, keep it to moderate intensity level). The length of play session between breaks increases each week.

Treatment:

Behavioral: PlayFit - modified exercise games