Optimizing Sedentary Behavior Interventions to Affect Acute Physiological Changes

Optimizing Sedentary Behavior Interventions to Affect Acute Physiological

An emerging body of epidemiological evidence suggests that various forms of sedentary behavior, including TV viewing, occupational sitting, and total daily sitting, may be associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, overweight and obesity, type 2 diabetes, depression and psychological well-being. Importantly, many of these associations were independent of participation in moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity. We propose a pilot study to assess the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy of two interventions targeting sedentary behavior. Since it is currently unknown what component of sedentary behavior exposure presents the greatest risk to health, we propose separate interventions to reduce overall sedentary time and to promote breaks in sedentary time.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Sedentary Behavior
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Sedentary behavior

Detailed Description

Primary aim: To determine the acceptability and feasibility of selected personal, social and environmental strategies to reduce overall sitting time and increase the number of times participants stand up in a day.

Secondary aim: To assess whether existing and new measurement approaches can detect specific changes in sedentary behavior.

Exploratory aim: To establish whether specified intervention strategies were efficacious in reducing sedentary behavior and whether intervention effects were specific to the targeted sedentary behavior construct (e.g. decreased overall sitting time or increased number of breaks in sitting).

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 30
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • La Jolla, California, United States, 92093
      • University of California, San Diego

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 48 years to 68 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Males or females 50 -70 years of age
2. Able to attend 4 measurement visits with study staff in 3 consecutive weeks
3. Spend at least 8 hours per day sitting
4. Willing and able to wear study device for 21 days
5. Able to read and write in English
6. Able to provide written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Do not sit for at least 8 hours per day
2. Unable to attend 4 visits
3. Diagnosis of serious chronic condition that would limit the ability to stand

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Reduction in sitting time; Those randomized to this condition focused on reducing their overall sitting time by two hours per day (a goal achieved in similar studies [17,18] that represented approximately a 25% reduction in daily sitting time). Participants were encouraged to reach this goal by standing in bouts of roughly 10 minutes per hour. The purpose of this arm was to investigate whether we could replicate improvements in sitting time achieved in other worksite studies in our cohort of older adults, which included both workers and non-workers.	Behavioral: Sedentary behavior; Participants were randomized to either reduce their total sitting time or increase sit-to-stand transitions. Information was provided in person, through written materials and by emails and phone calls in both conditions. Both groups received written educational materials on the dangers of excessive sitting and reviewed a generic day to illustrate how many sitting opportunities individuals face each day. During each session, the health educator also discussed the benefits of sitting less or increasing sit-to-stand transitions (depending on study condition) and brainstormed potential barriers to implementing the new behavior as well as strategies to overcome these barriers.
Experimental: Increase in sit-to-stand transitions; Those randomized to the sit-to-stand condition focused on increasing the number of sit-to-stand transitions they performed throughout the day with a goal of adding 30 additional transitions per day. Previous studies have not succeeded in increasing the number of sit-to-stand transitions in older adults, possibly because they focused on reducing overall sitting time, encouraged longer standing breaks and did not provide a specific goal for sit-to-stand transitions [26-28]. An increase in sit-to-stand transitions would not be expected with an increase standing intervention alone, as prolonged standing reduces the opportunity for sit-to-stand transitions.	Behavioral: Sedentary behavior; Participants were randomized to either reduce their total sitting time or increase sit-to-stand transitions. Information was provided in person, through written materials and by emails and phone calls in both conditions. Both groups received written educational materials on the dangers of excessive sitting and reviewed a generic day to illustrate how many sitting opportunities individuals face each day. During each session, the health educator also discussed the benefits of sitting less or increasing sit-to-stand transitions (depending on study condition) and brainstormed potential barriers to implementing the new behavior as well as strategies to overcome these barriers.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Acceptability and feasibility	To determine the acceptability and feasibility of selected personal, social and environmental strategies to reduce overall sitting time and increase the number of times participants stand up in a day	3 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Measurement	To assess whether existing and new measurement approaches can detect specific changes in sedentary behavior.	3 weeks
Sedentary behavior	To establish whether specified intervention strategies were efficacious in reducing sedentary behavior and whether intervention effects were specific to the targeted sedentary behavior construct (e.g. decreased overall sitting time or increased number of breaks in sitting).	3 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of California, San Diego
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jacqueline Kerr, Phd, UCSD

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Takemoto M, Godbole S, Rosenberg DE, Nebeker C, Natarajan L, Madanat H, Nichols J, Kerr J. The search for the ejecting chair: a mixed-methods analysis of tool use in a sedentary behavior intervention. Transl Behav Med. 2020 Feb 3;10(1):186-194. doi: 10.1093/tbm/iby106.
• Kerr J, Takemoto M, Bolling K, Atkin A, Carlson J, Rosenberg D, Crist K, Godbole S, Lewars B, Pena C, Merchant G. Two-Arm Randomized Pilot Intervention Trial to Decrease Sitting Time and Increase Sit-To-Stand Transitions in Working and Non-Working Older Adults. PLoS One. 2016 Jan 6;11(1):e0145427. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0145427. eCollection 2016.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: September 1, 2013
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 1, 2014
• Study Completion (Actual): March 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 4, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 4, 2015
• First Posted (Estimate): September 9, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): September 9, 2015
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 4, 2015
• Last Verified: September 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: HRPP Project #130817