Sedentary Lifestyle
Conditions
Keywords
Physical activity, Sedentary lifestyle, Pedometers, Walking, 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
BEHAVIORALFeedback compared to 75th percentile
BEHAVIORALForgiveness
BEHAVIORALFinancial Incentive
For the first three months of the study, a weekly lottery will be held. Teams whose average daily step count for that week is ≥ 7000 will be eligible to collect their lottery winnings. Teams whose average daily step count is less than 7000 will receive messages about how much they would have won had the team met its goal.
BEHAVIORALDaily Feedback
Participants will be given daily feedback on whether or not they walked 7000 steps or more the day before.
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
* Age greater than 18. * Participant will need an iPhone or Android smartphone to be able to use the Moves App for tracking steps
Exclusion criteria
* Pregnant or lactating * Participating in another physical activity study
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Proportion of days an individual walks 7000 steps or more | End of study - 6 months after enrollment | 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
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Average number of steps per day and week | End of study- 6 months after enrollment | Secondary outcomes include average number of steps per day and week during the intervention (first 3 months) and follow-up (second 3 months) periods. |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in physical activity | End of study- 6 months after enrollment | Changes in physical activity as determined by validated surveys. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed