This project was to examine the effects of incorporating modern wearable technology into the credit-based Physical Activity Instructional Program for promoting habitual levels of physical activity among college students.

This project was a cluster randomized trial examining the effects of utilizing a wearable activity tracker in a credit-based Physical Activity Instructional Program on promoting habitual levels of physical activity (PA) in college students.

The project was conducted in a large public university located in the mid-south region of the US. The university offers more than one hundred 1-credit hour PAIPs per academic semester. Considering the pilot nature of the study, the target PAIPs was limited to those meeting the following inclusion criteria: 1) PAIP with a size of 30 students that generally show an approximately equal gender distribution; and 2) PAIP that delivers the principles and practice of individually tailored habitual activity plans. The investigators randomly selected 14 eligible PAIPs and assigned them into intervention (k=7) and control (k=7) groups. The outcome measures of interests were the changes in objectively and subjectively measured physical activity over an academic semester.

Inclusion Criteria:

• healthy college students who were enrolled in 1-credit physical activity instruction programs.

Exclusion Criteria:

• did not wish to participate;
• have currently used their own wearable activity tracker;
• indicated any major physical, psychiatric, or cardiovascular-related problems diagnosed by a physician.

All participants in both intervention and control arms were not disclosed to the specific purpose of the study in order to prevent the subject-expectancy effects on study outcomes.