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The Role of a Virtual Coach in Improving Adherence to an Activity Program for Overweight Adults

NCT00792207 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 70

Last updated 2009-12-04

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Hypothesis: Overweight subjects using a Virtual Coach will demonstrate improved adherence to an exercise regime.

This study is designed to examine the effect of a computer program called a "Virtual Coach" and find out if it helps people become more active. This program acts as a kind of a personal trainer and will give you feedback. All participants in the study will receive an activity monitor to wear during the study and a website to use to track activity. Half of the participants will also receive the virtual coach software. This software will have to be downloaded onto your computer, and we will ask that you check in with the coach using the software three times a week for 12 weeks. The group you will be placed in will be selected by chance.

Conditions

Interventions

OTHER

Virtual Coach software

The intervention being tested, the Virtual Coach, is an automated empathic computer agent which will run on patient's home computer and engage the patient in dialogues to deliver personalized feedback, education and coaching based on physiological data.

OTHER

Activity monitor and website

The control group will use an activity monitor and a website to track activity levels.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Northeastern University

    collaborator OTHER

  • FitSense/FitLinxx

    collaborator UNKNOWN

  • Massachusetts General Hospital

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Alice Watson, MD,MPH · Massachusetts General Hospital, Partners Center for Connected Health, Harvard Medical School

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
20 Years
Max Age
55 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2008-06-30
Primary Completion
2008-09-30
Completion
2008-09-30

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT00792207 on ClinicalTrials.gov