Physical Activity and Leisure-time Study (PALS)

TV Commercial Stepping: Can America's Top Sedentary Activity be Made More Active

Status

Completed

Phases

Phase 1

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01342471

Acronym

PALS

Enrollment

Registered

2011-04-27

Start date

2010-09-30

Completion date

2011-06-30

Last updated

2012-11-09

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

Conditions

Physical Activity, Weight

Keywords

Physical activity intervention, walking, TV, sedentary

Brief summary

Physical inactivity is a major public health problem and a primary contributing factor to the obesity epidemic. While most Americans do not meet the physical activity (PA) guidelines (30 min/day, 5 day/wk), they do report watching several hours of TV each day, and frequently site lack of time as a barrier for engaging in PA. The Physical Activity and Leisure-time Study examines an approach convert sedentary TV watching into active TV watching time by having adults step in place during commercials (TV commercial stepping).

Detailed description

This randomized controlled trial will examine the effects of a PA prescription of TV commercial stepping for at least 90 min/day of TV programming, with that of walking at least 30 min/day (30 min walk) on daily step counts, TV viewing, and diet during a 24 week PA intervention. Sedentary, overweight or obese, adults will be randomly assigned to either the TV commercial stepping, or 30 min walk group during a 24-week behavioral PA intervention. Both groups will attend 8 sessions, but receive different PA goals. PA, TV watching time, diet, and anthropometric data will be collected at 0, 12, and 24 weeks. It is hypothesized that the TV commercial stepping condition will, show an equal increase in PA at 12 and 24 weeks as compared to the 30-min walk condition. Neither group is hypothesized to demonstrate changes in TV viewing time, dietary intake, or weight.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALTV commercial stepping

Participants were instructed to stand and briskly step in place, or briskly walk continuously around the room/house for the duration of each commercial break during at least 90 min of TV programming on at least 5 days/week. Both conditions will receive an ankle mounted Omron pedometer, so they were able to track their steps each day. Participants were not given instructions concerning diet modification or modifying TV viewing time during a 6 month behavioral physical activity intervention

BEHAVIORAL30-min walk

Participants were instructed to use brisk walking (at least 30 min/day in bouts of at least 10 min) at least 5 days/week. Both conditions will receive an ankle mounted Omron pedometer, so they were able to track their steps each day. Participants were not given instructions concerning diet modification or modifying TV viewing time during a 6 month behavioral physical activity intervention

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE (Subject)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

25 Years to 65 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* 25 to 65 years of age * BMI between 25 and 45 kg/m2 * watch ≥14 hours per week of TV * ability to follow instructions and record data * ability to walk 1/4 mile without stopping

Exclusion criteria

* history of myocardial infraction, angina, stroke, heart failure, or uncontrolled cardiac arrhythmias * a resting blood pressure greater than 180 mm Hg systolic and/or 100 mm Hg diastolic * other physical or medical limitations for engaging in physical activity * no television in the home * baseline physical activity level exceeding 7,499 steps per day as determined by the Omron pedometer * currently participating in a program to increase PA * intended to move outside the East Tennessee area within the time frame of the intervention * were pregnant, lactating, less than 6 months post-partum, or planned to become pregnant during the time frame of the intervention * unwilling to attend group intervention meetings, assessments or to complete an activity diary for the duration of the study.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Physical Activity (Steps/Day)	0 and 6 months	Change in pedometer measured steps per day between 0 and 6 months

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Total Energy Intake	0 and 6 months	Change in total energy intake(kcals/day) between 0 and 6 months
TV Related Energy Intake	0 and 6 months	Change in energy intake (kcals/day) while watching TV between 0 and 6 months
Weight	0 and 6 months	Change in weight in kgs between 0 and 6 months
TV Viewing Time	0 and 6 months	Change in self-reported TV viewing time per day between 0 and 6 months

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Recruitment details

recruited by flyers and newspaper advertisements, were enrolled in a university-based PA program during the months of September through November, 2010.

Participants by arm

Arm	Count
30-min Walk Instructed to use brisk walking (at least 30 min/day in bouts of at least 10 min) at least 5 days/week. Participants were permitted to exercise in one long bout (30 min) or divide the exercise into multiple bouts as long as the bout length was 10 min or greater. 30-min walk : Participants were instructed to use brisk walking (at least 30 min/day in bouts of at least 10 min) at least 5 days/week. Both conditions will receive an ankle mounted Omron pedometer, so they were able to track their steps each day. Participants were not given instructions concerning diet modification or modifying TV viewing time during a 6 month behavioral physical activity intervention	29
TV Commercial Stepping Instructed to stand and briskly step in place, or briskly walk continuously around the room/house for the duration of each commercial break during at least 90 min of TV programming on at least 5 days/week. Rather than exercising continuously for at least 10-minute bouts, participants performed multiple (\ 9 or 10), short (\ 3-5 min) bouts, conveniently incorporated into their daily TV viewing time. TV commercial stepping : Participants were instructed to stand and briskly step in place, or briskly walk continuously around the room/house for the duration of each commercial break during at least 90 min of TV programming on at least 5 days/week. Both conditions will receive an ankle mounted Omron pedometer, so they were able to track their steps each day. Participants were not given instructions concerning diet modification or modifying TV viewing time during a 6 month behavioral physical activity intervention	29
Total	58

Baseline characteristics

Characteristic	TV Commercial Stepping	30-min Walk	Total
Age, Categorical <=18 years	0 Participants	0 Participants	0 Participants
Age, Categorical >=65 years	0 Participants	0 Participants	0 Participants
Age, Categorical Between 18 and 65 years	29 Participants	29 Participants	58 Participants
Age Continuous	53.8 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 6.8	50.2 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 9.8	52.0 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 8.6
Region of Enrollment United States	29 participants	29 participants	58 participants
Sex: Female, Male Female	24 Participants	22 Participants	46 Participants
Sex: Female, Male Male	5 Participants	7 Participants	12 Participants

Adverse events

Event type	EG000 affected / at risk	EG001 affected / at risk
deaths Total, all-cause mortality	— / —	— / —
other Total, other adverse events	0 / 29	0 / 29
serious Total, serious adverse events	0 / 29	0 / 29

Arm	Measure	Value (MEAN)	Dispersion
30-min Walk	Weight	-0.4 kg	Standard Deviation 0
TV Commercial Stepping	Weight	-0.7 kg	Standard Deviation 0.2

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Mar 25, 2026