Body Electric: a Pragmatic Trial Evaluating the Viability of Movement Breaks

Summary

The purpose of this pragmatic trial is to determine the implementation potential of three movement break doses (every 30, 60, or 90 min) under real-world conditions. The main questions it aims to answer are:

* What is the feasibility, acceptability, appropriateness, and compliance to the tested movement break doses under real-world conditions?
* What is the effectiveness of the movement break doses on improving mood, fatigue, and work performance?
* What are the barriers of and facilitators to taking movement breaks across population subgroups (age group, sex, race/ethnicity, employment status, employment setting, and occupation).

Researchers will compare differences in the primary (implementation metrics), secondary (mood, fatigue, and work performance), and exploratory (barriers/facilitators) outcomes across the three trial arms (movement breaks every 30, 60, or 120 minutes).

Participants will:

* Take movement breaks (5 minutes of walking at a self-selected pace) daily according to their dose condition (every 30, 60, or 90 minutes) for two consecutive weeks.
* Complete daily surveys to report compliance, barriers/facilitators, and mood/fatigue/work performance.
* Complete a survey battery at the end of the study to report implementation potential, rank/rate barriers and facilitators, and evaluate mood/fatigue/work performance.

To address the study aims, the investigator will recruit 50,000 adults and will conduct a dosing study that concurrently tests three movement break doses. Participants will complete a 7-day baseline period to assess normal durations of sedentary behavior and movement, followed by a 2-week period during which they will be select a movement break dose to implement in their everyday life for the duration of the program. The break frequency x duration combination will include 5 minute every 30 minutes, 5 minutes every 60 minutes, and 5 minutes every 120 minutes. Work and leisure behaviors, mood, fatigue, and barriers/facilitators will be assessed via survey at enrollment, as well as via daily surveys during the baseline and intervention monitoring periods.

Conditions

• Sedentary Behavior

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Sedentary Breaks

Participants recruited through a podcast series (Body Electric) produced by National Public Radio were asked to select one of three movement break conditions (5 minutes of movement for every 30-, 60-, or 120-minutes of sedentary time). Participants are asked to complete movement breaks during all waking hours on weekdays and weekends (i.e. 7 days a week). During movement breaks, participants are instructed to walk for 5 minutes in whichever way was most comfortable and safe (i.e. self-selected pace and location). Participants who use an assistive device such as a wheelchair or walker, were instructed to wheel, walk, or complete other convenient, comfortable, and safe types of movement such as upper body exercises with resistance bands, chair-based exercises, etc. No break reminders were provided, although participants were encouraged to set reminders in their phones or to utilize commercially available apps or wearable devices.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Columbia University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Keith M Diaz, PhD · Florence Irving Associate Professor of Behavioral Medicine

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-10-03

Primary Completion

2023-11-09

Completion

2023-11-09

Countries

• United States

Study Locations