E-health Interventions to Promote Physical Activity Among Inactive Adults

E-health Interventions to Promote Physical Activity Among Inactive Adults: a Hybrid Type I Effectiveness-implementation Randomized Controlled Trial

The project addresses physical inactivity as a global health issue. Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality. Moreover, inactive adults have a higher risk to develop lifestyle diseases. To date, there is preliminary evidence of the efficacy in the use of certain strategies including fitness technologies and digital interventions for physical activity (PA) promotion. Intervention studies are needed to test the effectiveness of PA promotion strategies.

A Hybrid Type I effectiveness-implementation randomised controlled trial (RCT) will investigate the effects of 1) fitness trackers, 2) home-based online training, and 3) peer support via social media among inactive adults. The design will allow testing the study outcomes while gathering information on implementation in a real-world situation. The study will produce evidence on whether these interventions increase the levels of PA among inactive adults and improve health outcomes. Increased PA will also result in better primary prevention of lifestyle diseases.

Inclusion Criteria:

• young (18-40 years) or middle aged (40-55 years) healthy adults, both men and women;
• inactive (undertaking less than 150 min of moderate-intensity PA per week) in the last 3 months;
• living in the Troms and Finnmark county;
• current owner of a smartphone;
• able to understand training instructions in English language.

Exclusion Criteria:

• presence of disabilities which might reduce the ability to perform exercise;
• presence of conditions which might prevent from safely exercise;
• lack of Internet connection at home;
• lack of space to exercise safely at home (recommended 4 sqm).