Fit Physicians: Use of Activity Monitors and Activity Integration Program in First Year Medical Students (FitPhysician)

Fit Physicians: A Novel Physical Activity Integration Program to Improve Fitness and Activity in Medical Students: A Randomized Pilot Study

Using FitBit activity monitors, physical activity levels will be monitored in first year medical students. Body Composition will be measured as well.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Body Weight Changes; Motor Activity
• Intervention / Treatment: Radiation: iDEXA Scan; Other: Wellness Lectures; Other: Exercise intervention; Other: Activity monitor

Detailed Description

Using fitness trackers and exercise testing, it will determine if participating in a novel program that incorporates wellness into the academic term will improve fitness.

An estimate, 120 students will enroll in this study. Men and women aged 18-55 years of age that are just entering medical school. Students who are currently pregnant will not be allowed to participate in this study.

Participation will involve 2 visits at the start of the academic school year, and two visits at the end of the academic school year.

These visits will entail you undergoing a body composition scan measured by an duel energy x-ray absorptiometry (iDEXA) machine. The scan takes approximately 15 minutes. Subjects may be asked to perform an exercise stress test on a treadmill. The exercise test is approximately 40 minutes. Subjects may be asked to participate in a fitness program 2x a week, and may be asked to wear a Fitbit Flex™ activity tracker on the wrist for the duration of the school year. Investigators will be accessing academic grades to use for statistical purposes only. Subject names will never be given to any other party other than the investigators involved.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 124
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • Old Westbury, New York, United States, 11568568
      • NYIT

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 55 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• First year medical students
• Must have smartphone

Exclusion Criteria:

• Medical conditions that prohibit exercise
• pregnancy

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Fit Physician Group; Subjects will receive activity monitor and will be required to attend monthly wellness lectures and weekly exercise intervention. Every subject will undergo an iDEXA scan to measure body mass composition	Radiation: iDEXA Scan; Subjects will receive pre study and post study scans to assess body mass composition; Other: Wellness Lectures; Subjects in the Fit Physician Arm will be required to attend monthly wellness lectures; Other: Exercise intervention; Subjects in the Fit Physician Arm will be required to attend weekly exercise interventions; Other: Activity monitor; Subjects in the Fit physician arm and the activity monitor arm will receive activity monitors to assess their activity level throughout the academic year
Active Comparator: Activity Monitor Only Group; Subjects will receive an activity monitor without any intervention Every subject will undergo an iDEXA scan to measure body mass composition )	Radiation: iDEXA Scan; Subjects will receive pre study and post study scans to assess body mass composition; Other: Activity monitor; Subjects in the Fit physician arm and the activity monitor arm will receive activity monitors to assess their activity level throughout the academic year
Other: Control Group; Subjects will not an activity monitor nor will they receive any intervention Every subject will undergo an iDEXA scan to measure body mass composition	Radiation: iDEXA Scan; Subjects will receive pre study and post study scans to assess body mass composition

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Steps per day measured daily by FitBit Flex	10 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Body Mass Composition assessed by iDEXA scan	10 months
Academic Performance assessed by numeric grade point average	10 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: New York Institute of Technology
• Investigators: Study Chair: Brian Harper, MD, NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• DiFrancisco-Donoghue J, Jung MK, Stangle A, Werner WG, Zwibel H, Happel P, Balentine J. Utilizing wearable technology to increase physical activity in future physicians: A randomized trial. Prev Med Rep. 2018 Sep 11;12:122-127. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2018.09.004. eCollection 2018 Dec. Erratum In: Prev Med Rep. 2020 Dec 10;20:101282.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 7, 2016
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 3, 2017
• Study Completion (Actual): June 3, 2017

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 8, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 18, 2016
• First Posted (Estimate): May 19, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 21, 2017
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 16, 2017
• Last Verified: July 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Fitness; Medical student; Activity Monitor; Medical school
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Body Weight; Body Weight Changes
• Other Study ID Numbers: BHS-1153

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No
• IPD Plan Description: Data will not be shared with individual participants