Sedentary Lifestyle
Conditions
Keywords
Sedentary lifestyle, Pedometers, Obesity, Physical Activity, Financial Incentives, Behavioral Economics
Brief summary
Employers are increasingly looking for opportunities to motivate sedentary employees to become more physically active. Workplace walking programs have had mixed success and typically show most improvement among participants that are already fairly active at a baseline. The goal of this study is to determine whether a financial incentive program can motivate sedentary employees to increase the number of steps they walk per day to meet a minimum threshold. The primary outcome measure is the proportion of days a minimum activity of 7000 steps or more is achieved. Outcomes will be assessed each week for 3 months using incentives followed by 3 months of follow-up without incentives. Secondary outcomes will include the average steps walked per day.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALFinancial Incentives
BEHAVIORALDaily feedback
Sponsors
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
University of Pennsylvania
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
SINGLE (Investigator)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 100 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
1. Age greater than 18. 2. Participant will need an iPhone or Android smartphone to be able to use the Moves App for tracking steps
Exclusion criteria
1. A score of high on the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) activity level scale 2. BMI less than 27 3. Pregnant or lactating 4. Participation in another physical activity study
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Proportion of Days Each Individual Walks 7000 Steps Per Day or More | Throughout the 6 month study | The primary outcome measure is the mean proportion of participant-days a minimum activity of 7000 steps or more is achieved. Outcomes will be assessed each week for 3 months using incentives followed by 3 months of follow-up without incentives. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Average Number of Steps Per Day | Throughout the 6 month study | Secondary outcomes include average number of steps each individual takes per day throughout the 13-week intervention and additional 13-week follow-up periods. |
Countries
United States
Participant flow
Pre-assignment details
One participant randomly assigned to the gain-incentive group was later found to be ineligible due to previous enrollment in another physical activity study. One participant randomly assigned to the lottery-incentive group switched to a phone that was not eligible for use before the study began and therefore did not receive the intervention.
Participants by arm
| Arm | Count |
|---|---|
| Control The participant will receive either an email or text message (based on the participant's preference) stating whether the participant achieved their goal for the prior day.
Daily feedback | 70 |
| Gain Framing Participants will be told that they will earn money for each day they walk at least 7000 steps. Each participant will receive either an email or text message (based on the participant's preference) stating whether or not he/she achieved the goal for the prior day and can collect the earnings. Non-adherent participants will receive messages about how much they would have earned had they met their target step goal.
Financial Incentives
Daily feedback | 69 |
| Daily Lottery Each participant will be entered into a lottery daily, but participants will only be eligible to collect their winnings if they walked at least 7000 steps the day before. Participants will receive either an email or text message (based on the participant's preference) stating whether or not they won the lottery and if they met their target step goal. If both occur, the participant will be told how much money he or she won. Non-adherent participants will receive messages about how much they would have won had they met the target step goal.
Financial Incentives
Daily feedback | 70 |
| Loss Framing The participants will be told that their account has been credited a certain amount of money for the upcoming 30 days. However, for each day they do not meet their goal of at least 7000 steps, they will lose a small portion of that money. The participant will receive either an email or text message (based on the participant's preference) stating whether the participant achieved the goal for the prior day. Non-adherent participants will receive messages about how much the participant would have kept had they met the target step goal.
Financial Incentives
Daily feedback | 70 |
| Total | 279 |
Withdrawals & dropouts
| Period | Reason | FG000 | FG001 | FG002 | FG003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Study | Ineligible (see Pre-assignment Details) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Overall Study | Withdrawal by Subject | 3 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | Control | Gain Framing | Daily Lottery | Loss Framing | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, Continuous | 39.4 years of age STANDARD_DEVIATION 12.2 | 37.1 years of age STANDARD_DEVIATION 10.9 | 40.3 years of age STANDARD_DEVIATION 11.2 | 41.9 years of age STANDARD_DEVIATION 11.6 | 39.7 years of age STANDARD_DEVIATION 11.6 |
| Annual household income >$100,000 | 20 Participants | 12 Participants | 20 Participants | 18 Participants | 70 Participants |
| Annual household income <$50,000 | 21 Participants | 24 Participants | 24 Participants | 15 Participants | 84 Participants |
| Annual household income $50,000-$100,000 | 25 Participants | 32 Participants | 22 Participants | 29 Participants | 108 Participants |
| Education College graduate | 54 Participants | 52 Participants | 55 Participants | 56 Participants | 217 Participants |
| Education Less than college | 1 Participants | 2 Participants | 2 Participants | 2 Participants | 7 Participants |
| Education Some college | 15 Participants | 15 Participants | 13 Participants | 12 Participants | 55 Participants |
| Marital status Married | 31 Participants | 31 Participants | 32 Participants | 36 Participants | 130 Participants |
| Marital status Other | 12 Participants | 12 Participants | 11 Participants | 9 Participants | 44 Participants |
| Marital status Single | 27 Participants | 26 Participants | 27 Participants | 25 Participants | 105 Participants |
| Mean BMI | 33.2 kg/m^2 STANDARD_DEVIATION 5.3 | 32.6 kg/m^2 STANDARD_DEVIATION 4.5 | 33.1 kg/m^2 STANDARD_DEVIATION 5.6 | 33.8 kg/m^2 STANDARD_DEVIATION 6.8 | 33.2 kg/m^2 STANDARD_DEVIATION 5.6 |
| Median physical activity in the past 7 d, MET-min | 2568.8 Metabolic equivalent minutes (MET-min) | 2812.2 Metabolic equivalent minutes (MET-min) | 2785.0 Metabolic equivalent minutes (MET-min) | 2764.5 Metabolic equivalent minutes (MET-min) | 2709.3 Metabolic equivalent minutes (MET-min) |
| Number of Participants with iPhone smartphone | 46 Participants | 43 Participants | 45 Participants | 49 Participants | 183 Participants |
| Race/ethnicity African American non-Hispanic | 16 Participants | 16 Participants | 16 Participants | 13 Participants | 61 Participants |
| Race/ethnicity Hispanic | 3 Participants | 2 Participants | 3 Participants | 2 Participants | 10 Participants |
| Race/ethnicity Other non-Hispanic | 6 Participants | 10 Participants | 7 Participants | 6 Participants | 29 Participants |
| Race/ethnicity White non-Hispanic | 45 Participants | 41 Participants | 44 Participants | 49 Participants | 179 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Female | 55 Participants | 55 Participants | 53 Participants | 54 Participants | 217 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Male | 15 Participants | 14 Participants | 17 Participants | 16 Participants | 62 Participants |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk | EG001 affected / at risk | EG002 affected / at risk | EG003 affected / at risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | 0 / 70 | 0 / 69 | 0 / 70 | 0 / 70 |
| other Total, other adverse events | 0 / 70 | 0 / 69 | 0 / 70 | 0 / 70 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 0 / 70 | 0 / 69 | 0 / 70 | 0 / 70 |
Outcome results
Primary
Proportion of Days Each Individual Walks 7000 Steps Per Day or More
The primary outcome measure is the mean proportion of participant-days a minimum activity of 7000 steps or more is achieved. Outcomes will be assessed each week for 3 months using incentives followed by 3 months of follow-up without incentives.
Time frame: Throughout the 6 month study
| Arm | Measure | Group | Value (MEAN) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control | Proportion of Days Each Individual Walks 7000 Steps Per Day or More | Intervention | 0.30 Proportion of participant-days |
| Control | Proportion of Days Each Individual Walks 7000 Steps Per Day or More | Follow-up | 0.24 Proportion of participant-days |
| Gain Framing | Proportion of Days Each Individual Walks 7000 Steps Per Day or More | Follow-up | 0.25 Proportion of participant-days |
| Gain Framing | Proportion of Days Each Individual Walks 7000 Steps Per Day or More | Intervention | 0.35 Proportion of participant-days |
| Daily Lottery | Proportion of Days Each Individual Walks 7000 Steps Per Day or More | Follow-up | 0.23 Proportion of participant-days |
| Daily Lottery | Proportion of Days Each Individual Walks 7000 Steps Per Day or More | Intervention | 0.36 Proportion of participant-days |
| Loss Framing | Proportion of Days Each Individual Walks 7000 Steps Per Day or More | Intervention | 0.45 Proportion of participant-days |
| Loss Framing | Proportion of Days Each Individual Walks 7000 Steps Per Day or More | Follow-up | 0.30 Proportion of participant-days |
Secondary
Average Number of Steps Per Day
Secondary outcomes include average number of steps each individual takes per day throughout the 13-week intervention and additional 13-week follow-up periods.
Time frame: Throughout the 6 month study
| Arm | Measure | Group | Value (MEAN) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control | Average Number of Steps Per Day | Intervention | 5031 Steps per day |
| Control | Average Number of Steps Per Day | Follow-up | 4539 Steps per day |
| Gain Framing | Average Number of Steps Per Day | Follow-up | 4692 Steps per day |
| Gain Framing | Average Number of Steps Per Day | Intervention | 5406 Steps per day |
| Daily Lottery | Average Number of Steps Per Day | Intervention | 5251 Steps per day |
| Daily Lottery | Average Number of Steps Per Day | Follow-up | 4529 Steps per day |
| Loss Framing | Average Number of Steps Per Day | Intervention | 5880 Steps per day |
| Loss Framing | Average Number of Steps Per Day | Follow-up | 5065 Steps per day |