The Causal Impact of Online Social Media on Physical Activity: A Randomized Controlled Trial

October 13, 2014 updated by: University of Pennsylvania
The overall objective of this research is to collect data for understanding whether messages in online environments impact fitness attitudes and behaviors. In particular, the study aims to experimentally examine what features of online social media - promotional messaging or peer networks - impact offline fitness measures (such fitness workshop enrollment and self-reported physical activity level). The study partners with an existing fitness program at a large northeastern university, which provides a 13-week fitness program for graduate and professional students at the university. The program begins with a university-run eligibility assessment of specific fitness measures for all participants, who win prizes for improvements in program participation and health behavior outcomes. The fitness program consists of semester-long series of workshops offered through the university's recreation department. The randomized trial constructs an online social media platform for the fitness program that provides a way to send either promotion health messages or messages about peer activities to the online community.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Sedentary lifestyle among university students and young adults has become a global epidemic. Widespread use of social media is both a contributing factor, and a potential solution; however the cost-effective use of social media to promote fitness on college campuses is poorly understood. This study aims to identify what features of social media - promotional messaging or peer networks - can increase physical activity levels.

In this randomized controlled trial, participants are randomized to three conditions: basic online program for enrolling in university-run weekly fitness workshops, media condition that supplements the basic program with promotional media messages, and a social condition that replaces the media content with a network of peers. Participants are limited to graduate and professional students at a large northeastern university.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

217

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Graduate and professional students at a large northeastern university.
  • Logging in to the study website at least once after online registration

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Inability to perform physical activities (e.g., broken limbs), and underlying diseases that were likely to affect participant safety. Ineligibility is determined by the Department of Recreation and Health Services at the university.

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: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Basic fitness program
The control condition provides study participants with online tools for enrolling in offline fitness workshops offered by the university's recreation department and recording their progress in the program. All fitness workshops are pre-programmed in an online calendar. Upon clicking a workshop, participants can read a detailed description and register for it directly on the calendar. The registration then triggers a confirmation email sent to the participant immediately and a reminder email 12 hours before the workshop starts. In addition, an online tracking tool is built that participants can use to keep a daily journal of their health activities and fitness status.
Behavioral: Basic fitness program
Participants can register workshops online and track program participation.
Other Names:
  • Control condition
Experimental: Media-assisted fitness program
The media condition evaluates the effects of informational and motivational messages on physical activity by supplementing the basic program tools with promotional media, including: "high arousal" videos encouraging physical activity, real-time email notifications about upcoming fitness workshops, and informational graphics with exercise tips and motivational messages. In the media condition, participants receive two videos on the website and one informational graphic that encourage physical activity on a weekly basis.
Behavioral: Media-assisted fitness program
Participants can register workshops online, track program participation, and receive promotional health messages online.
Other Names:
  • Media condition
Experimental: Social network-assisted fitness program
The social condition, by contrast, omits the media content. Instead, the basic program is supplemented with a network of four to six anonymous "health peers," composed of other participants of the program. Within the program website, each participant is able to see their peers' basic profile information, as well as information about their peers' progress in the program, and real-time notifications about their peers' completion of program activities. These networks do not provide any added incentives or additional content to promote physical activity, nor can participants directly communicate with, or "message" their peers through the website.
Behavioral: Social network-assisted fitness program
Participants can register workshops online and track program participation. Participants are put into anonymous online social networks and receive real-time activity updates from 4-6 peers.
Other Names:
  • Social condition

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Fitness workshop enrollment
Time Frame: Up to 3 months
Participants' enrollment in fitness workshops is recorded when participants digitally confirm their workshop registration. Workshop instructors confirm the attendance of enrolled participants. Enrollment is assessed up to 3 months from date of randomization.
Up to 3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from baseline in participants' self-reported physical activity level
Time Frame: Baseline and 3 months
At the baseline and post-program (3 months) online surveys, participants answer the question: "On how many of the past 7 days did you participate in physical activity for at least 30 minutes that did not make you sweat or breathe hard, such as fast walking, slow bicycling, and skating?" Responses to the question range from 0 to 7.
Baseline and 3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Pennsylvania

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Damon M. Centola, Ph.D, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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

January 1, 2014

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 1, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

May 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 7, 2014

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 13, 2014

First Posted (Estimate)

October 17, 2014

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

October 17, 2014

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 13, 2014

Last Verified

October 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 819455

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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