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Testing whether brief bouts of stair climbing during daily life, guided by a smartwatch, can improve health

Effects of brief, smartwatch-guided stair-climbing "exercise snacks" on physical activity levels and cardiovascular health in inactive adults: a proof-of-concept study

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ISRCTN
Registry ID
ISRCTN13840981
Enrollment
10
Registered
2025-09-23
Start date
2023-09-01
Completion date
Unknown
Last updated
2025-10-06

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Cardiovascular fitness Circulatory System

Interventions

Participants receive an exercise snacking intervention consisting of six 30-minute sessions with a personal trainer over the course of 6 weeks, and self-administered exercise snacks (brief stair-climb

Sponsors

University of Konstanz
Lead Sponsor

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Healthy (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire, PAR-Q+) 2. Physically inactive (self-reported <1 hour of structured physical activity per week)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Cardiometabolic or orthopedic diseases 2. Other conditions contraindicating intensive endurance training

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
1. Feasibility of the smartwatch-guided Exercise Snacking intervention assessed based on the frequency, duration, and intensity of completed exercise snacks. Each exercise snack was recorded from the smartwatch app for analysis. 2. Acceptability of the intervention in daily life was evaluated through semi-structured interviews conducted after 2 and 4 weeks, and a self-developed questionnaire administered at the end of the 6-week training period. The questionnaire included both Likert-scaled items and open-ended questions to capture participants’ subjective experiences.

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
Measured before and after the 6-week Exercise Snacking intervention: 1. Anaerobic performance assessed using the Counter Movement Jump (CMJ) and the Stair Climb Power Test (SCP) 2. Aerobic performance measured via a Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test (CPET)

Countries

Germany

Contacts

Public ContactYvonne Ritter
yvonne.ritter@uni-konstanz.de+49 (0)7531883030

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026