Health Behavior, Healthy, Psychological Stress
Conditions
Keywords
Healthy, Caregivers, Aging
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of a 12-month telephone-supervised, home-based physical activity and dietary intervention, conducted in either a sequential or simultaneous fashion, on improving physical activity and dietary patterns in a high-stress population.
Detailed description
This study combines elements of two previous studies--Teaching Healthy Lifestyles for Caregivers (TLC2) and Counseling Advice for Lifestyle Management (CALM)--to compare exercise and diet interventions in caregivers and non-caregivers. Two hundred and forty healthy men and women ages 50 and older, half caregivers and half non-caregivers, will be randomly assigned to one of four conditions: * a 12-month physical activity intervention and a 12-month dietary counseling intervention delivered simultaneously; * a 12-month counseling intervention first focusing on physical activity followed by the addition of dietary counseling; * a 12-month counseling intervention first focusing on dietary counseling followed by the addition of physical activity counseling; or * a 12-month attention-control condition focusing on stress-management skills training. Data on physical activity participation, saturated fat consumption, and related quality of life indicators (e.g., improved physical functioning, fitness, sleep, and psychological well-being) will be collected at baseline, 4 months, 8 months, and 12 months post-test. The primary hypotheses are: * participants assigned to the physical activity and dietary counseling conditions will show greater improvements in physical activity participation and saturated fat consumption at 12 months compared to the attention-control condition; and * participants in the sequentially-delivered counseling interventions will show greater improvements in physical activity and saturated fat consumption compared to participants in the simultaneously-delivered interventions.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALThe Stanford Active Choices program
Sponsors
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
50 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Men and women ages 50 and older * Current family caregiver * Currently experiencing significant psychological stress * Free of any medical condition that would limit participation in independent exercise * Not currently engaged in a regular pattern of physical conditioning * Current dietary pattern includes suboptimal total fat, saturated fat and vegetable and fruit consumption * Free of chronic clinical psychopathology * Stable on current medications * Planning to remain in the geographic area throughout the duration of the trial * Able to read and speak English sufficiently to understand protocol materials * Able to use the telephone unaided * Willing to accept random assignment to any study condition
Exclusion criteria
* Under the age of 50 * Currently under treatment for an acute, serious medical condition (e.g. cancer, heart disease, stroke) * Physically active on a regular basis (i.e. performing more than 60 minutes per week of aerobic physical activity of at least a moderate intensity) * Dietary patterns meet current recommendations for saturated fat and vegetable and fruit consumption * Unstable and/or uncontrolled on medications for chronic medical conditions * Unable or unwilling to use a telephone unaided * Unwilling to accept random assignment to study condition
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Increase in aerobic physical activity measured by the Stanford 7-Day Physical Activity Recall | baseline, 4 months, 8 months, and 12 months |
| decrease in saturated fat measured by the Block food frequency questionnaire | baseline, 4 months, 8 months, and 12 months |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Physical performance on a symptom-limited, graded exercise treadmill test | baseline, 4 months, 8 months, and 12 months |
| quality of life and psychological questionnaires measuring physical functioning | baseline, 4 months, 8 months, and 12 months |
| sleep | baseline, 4 months, 8 months, and 12 months |
| perceived stress | baseline, 4 months, 8 months, and 12 months |
| depressive symptoms | baseline, 4 months, 8 months, and 12 months |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed