Tying Devices as a Means of Increasing Exercise

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: Healthy
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Suggested Tying Intervention; Behavioral: Forced Tying Intervention; Behavioral: Control

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

Study Locations

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

Participation Criteria

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

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

3

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	9 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Dollar Amount Participants Would Pay for Enrollment	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

• 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

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: Interest in exercising more
• Other Study ID Numbers: 813970