Incentivizing Planning & Output in Exercising

This study will test whether incentivizing pre-workout activities (i.e., planning workouts) is more effective than incentivizing actual workouts. This study has two conditions: planning condition (with incentives for planning) vs. output (with incentives for working out). The focus of the incentives will be reinforced by three text messages per week and weekly emails.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Healthy
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Incentivizing planning; Behavioral: Incentivizing exercise

Detailed Description

Gym members register online to participate in a 28-day workout program. Upon registration, participants are assigned to one of two conditions (a condition that incentivizes planning or a condition that incentivizes workouts). Upon registration, participants are prompted to create a workout schedule and are given tips about how to create a workout habit. Over the 28-day intervention period, participants receive text message reminders prior to their scheduled workouts and emails reminding them of their schedules. In both conditions, participants receive points every day that they go to the gym, which can be redeemed for a gift card after the intervention period. In the planning condition, participants can receive bonus points for responding to each of three text messages each week asking about their plans for going to the gym. In the output condition, participants receive bonus points for their first three workouts each week.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 1200
• 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 and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Has 24 Hour Fitness gym membership

Exclusion Criteria:

-

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

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Incentivizing Planning; Participants will receive three texts each week asking a question to help plan for the next workout, and will receive 500 points for each text they answer. These bonus points are on top of points participants receive for each workout (200 points per workout).	Behavioral: Incentivizing planning; Participants receive bonus incentives for planning their workouts
Experimental: Incentivizing Exercise; Participants will receive three texts each week asking a question about their workout. Regardless of whether or not they respond to the texts, participants receive 500 bonus points for their first three workouts during the week. These bonus points are on top of points participants receive for each workout (200 points per workout).	Behavioral: Incentivizing exercise; Participants receive bonus incentives for exercising

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Gym visits per week	Number of times the participant goes to the gym	During the 28-day intervention period
Gym visits per week	Number of times the participant goes to the gym	During the 4-weeks post-intervention
Gym visits per week	Number of times the participant goes to the gym	During the 10-weeks post-intervention
Whether or not a participant visits the gym in a given week	Binary variable capturing whether or not a participant had any gym visits in a given week	During the 28-day intervention period
Whether or not a participant visits the gym in a given week	Binary variable capturing whether or not a participant had any gym visits in a given week	During the 4-weeks post intervention
Whether or not a participant visits the gym in a given week	Binary variable capturing whether or not a participant had any gym visits in a given week	During the 10-weeks post intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Gym visits per week	Number of times the participant goes to the gym	During the 52-weeks post-intervention
Whether or not a participant visits the gym in a given week	Binary variable capturing whether or not a participant had any gym visits in a given week	During the 52-weeks post-intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Pennsylvania

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 31, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 28, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): February 28, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 13, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 13, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): November 15, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 11, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 9, 2020
• Last Verified: June 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Exercise; Incentives; Planning
• Other Study ID Numbers: 827107-1255

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No