Tying Devices as a Means of Increasing Exercise

December 17, 2018 updated by: University of Pennsylvania
The investigators propose that healthy behaviors such as exercise could be increased through the use of tying devices - mechanisms that force a coupling of addictive activities (listening to the next chapter of a page-turner novel) with engagement in a healthy behavior (exercise).

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The study will test the effect of the following treatments as a means of increasing gym attendance over 10 weeks: 1. Participants receive access to 4 iTunes audio novels on their own iPods and prompted to listen to those novels only when exercising at the gym; 2: Participants receive 4 iTunes audio novels for a loaned iPod that they will only have access to at the gym; 3: Participants receive weekly emails asking them about their exercise.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

226

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
        • University of Pennsylvania

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 75 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Stable health as determined by the screening of their medical history
  • Own an iPod
  • An interest in exercising more regularly
  • Belong to the Pottruck Gym at University of Pennsylvania
  • Interested in exercising more through the use of aerobic exercise machines

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Recent myocardial infraction
  • congestive heart failure
  • uncontrolled hypertension
  • self-report of 6 or more alcoholic beverages per day or use of any illicit drugs
  • bulimia nervosa or related behaviors
  • diabetes medication

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Suggested Tying
Receive same treatments as control group, but instead of receiving cash they receive 4 iTunes audio novels for their own iPods. Further, they are prompted to try to listen to those novels only when exercising at the gym in order to increase their attendance.
Behavioral: Suggested Tying Intervention
Participants receive 4 iTunes audio novels for their own iPods to listen to only at the gym
Experimental: Forced Tying
Receives same treatment as the control group. However, in addition to receiving the cash, they also receive 4 iTunes audio novels for a loaned iPod that they will only have access to at the gym. They are told they may only listen to these novels only when at the gym in order to increase their attendance.
Behavioral: Forced Tying Intervention
Participants receive cash and also 4 iTunes audio novels for a loaned iPod accessible only at the gym to listen to only at the gym.
Experimental: Control
Control group of participants who do not receive any intervention but are weighed at the beginning and end of a 10 week period and receive weekly emails asking them about their exercise. They also receive the equivalent cash value of 4 iTunes audio novels
Behavioral: Control
Receive weekly emails asking participants about their exercise and receive cash.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Average Weekly Gym Attendance From Baseline to Week 9
Time Frame: 9 weeks
9 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Dollar Amount Participants Would Pay for Enrollment
Time Frame: 9 weeks
Willingness to pay is measured as the dollar amount a participant would pay to be enrolled in a program such as the treatment. Participant who would pay more are said to be more willing to pay, as opposed to those who would pay less or not at all.
9 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Pennsylvania

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Katherine L. Milkman, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
  • Principal Investigator: Julia A Minson, University of Pennsylvania
  • Principal Investigator: Kevin G.M. Volpp, MD, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

September 1, 2011

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2011

Study Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 3, 2011

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 4, 2011

First Posted (Estimate)

August 5, 2011

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

December 19, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 17, 2018

Last Verified

January 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 813970

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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