Better Breaks: Strength Breaks vs Walk Breaks for Sedentary Behavior Breaks

MOV'D Strength Snacks vs Walk Breaks Study: Health Performance Gains Across Domains

This study investigates the benefits of two different types of 2 minute activity breaks during sedentary workdays for people who sit for long periods of time in sedentary jobs.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Sedentary Employees
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Sitting breaks

Detailed Description

For this study, participants are randomly assigned to one of two physical activity breaks and for 8 weeks are to do 4 per day and track their daily breaks and productivity. There are many measurements including: in-person strength assessments at baseline, 1 month, and 2 months; daily tracking of breaks; pre and post oral glucose tolerance tests; pre and post 10-day diet tracking; pre and post 10-day Continuous Glucose Monitoring with a Dexcom; genome with saliva at pre; and -omics at pre and post.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 40
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Palo Alto, California, United States, 94304
      • Recruiting
      • Stanford Prevention Research Center
      • Contact: Marily Oppezzo, PhD, MS, RDN, DipACLM; Phone Number: xxx-xxx-xxxx; Email: betterbreaks@stanford.edu
      • Contact: Jessie Moore, MS; Phone Number: xxx-xxx-xxxx; Email: moveofteneveryday@stanford.edu
      • Contact: Marily Oppezzo, PhD, MS, RDN, DipACLM

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

-

Identify inclusion criteria.

1. Sedentary occupation (e.g., clerical work, data entry, call center, receptionists)
2. Full time employment remote or on-site
3. Able to safely perform bodyweight squats and lunges
4. Over 30 years old
5. Not currently doing a strength training program
6. Not currently taking planned activity breaks at work
7. Has a smart phone with a camera and unlimited text plans
8. Interested in participating
9. Fluent in English
10. Not currently on insulin or any glucose lowering medication

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Yes to any of the physical activity readiness criteria questionnaire (e.g. cardiac symptoms with increasing heart rate, dizziness upon performing exercise)
2. Participating in another research study on diet, weight loss, or any physical activity.
3. If their doctor has ever said to not strength train
4. Having insulin dependence

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: Strength Snacks; Participants will do 4 strength snacks throughout each work day, 2 of them post-prandial if possible.	Behavioral: Sitting breaks; Participants will take 2 minute physical movement breaks throughout a sedentary work day.
Active Comparator: Walk Snacks; Participants will take 4 x2 minute walk breaks throughout the sedentary workday, two of them post-prandial if possible.	Behavioral: Sitting breaks; Participants will take 2 minute physical movement breaks throughout a sedentary work day.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in average area under the curve for glucose from a 10 day continuous glucose monitors	Change from pre to post in average area under the curve for glucose from a 10 day continuous glucose monitors	from baseline to post (8 weeks)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in strength from pre to post	As many reps as possible of squats wearing a weighted vest with 20% of their bodyweight	from baseline to 8 weeks
Change in endurance from pre to post	As long as possible in as low as possible wall sit (matching pre and post joint angles for participant)	from baseline to 8 weeks
Change in one legged strength from pre to post	As many reps as possible standing up from a seated position on one leg and sitting back down	from baseline to 8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Stanford University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 5, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 27, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 27, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): April 3, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 3, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 27, 2025
• Last Verified: September 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: physical activity breaks; prolonged sitting breaks
• Other Study ID Numbers: 73022

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No