Physical Activity Awareness Education for Healthy Young Adults

Summary

Background and Rationale:

Physical inactivity in young adults is common and increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and some cancers. Awareness-based education that helps individuals reflect on daily routines may support lasting increases in physical activity better than information alone.

Objective:

To determine whether a 10-week Physical Activity Awareness education program-alone or combined with a brief weekly supervised exercise class-improves muscle performance and exercise participation in healthy, sedentary young adults.

Study Design:

Single-center, double-masked, randomized controlled trial. Participants are randomized to one of two parallel groups. Outcome assessors are blinded to group allocation; intervention staff are separate from assessors. Baseline and post-intervention assessments are performed over 10 weeks.

Participants and Eligibility:

Healthy volunteers aged 18-25 years who are inactive or minimally active (per standardized questionnaires), spend \>6 hours/day sitting (outside of sleep), and have body mass index ≤30 kg/m². Key exclusions include conditions that make exercise unsafe (e.g., significant visual/vestibular/neurologic disorders), recent spine or lower-limb surgery or fracture, severe musculoskeletal pain limiting movement, pregnancy risk, pacemaker or metal implants, or current athletic training.

Interventions:

Education Only: A 10-week Physical Activity Awareness education program delivered by physiotherapists (health benefits of activity, types of exercise, strategies to reduce sitting time, building enjoyable routines).

Education + Exercise: The same education program plus one supervised group exercise class per week (40 minutes; music-based aerobic activity, core strengthening, warm-up and cool-down).

Assessments and Endpoints:

Primary Endpoint: Trunk endurance on the static forearm plank test (time in seconds maintaining proper alignment).

Secondary Endpoints: Bilateral handgrip strength (best of three trials per hand, kilograms); Modified Closed Kinetic Chain Upper Extremity Stability Test (MCKCUEST) (number of alternating hand touches in 15 seconds while maintaining trunk stability); standing long jump (best distance, centimeters); and self-reported physical activity and exercise participation.

Potential Benefits and Risks:

Participants may gain practical knowledge and improvements in fitness and function. Risks are low for healthy adults but may include temporary muscle soreness, fatigue, or strain. Sessions are supervised by trained staff and exercises can be modified for comfort and safety.

Confidentiality:

Personal information is kept confidential. Data are coded and analyzed in aggregate; individual identities are not reported.

Study Setting and Duration:

University-based study with assessments at the start and end of a 10-week period. The study follows the Declaration of Helsinki and has institutional ethics approval.

Conditions

• Prevention/Health Promotion
• Awareness Training

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Physical Activity Awareness Education

Ten-week, group-based education delivered by physiotherapists to increase physical activity awareness and self-management. Weekly modules cover: health benefits of physical activity; differentiating physical activity vs exercise; strategies to reduce sitting time; behavior-change techniques (goal setting, self-monitoring, implementation intentions); sleep/screen-time hygiene; safety and progression; building enjoyable routines. Brief reflection/home logs support self-monitoring. No supervised exercise is provided within this intervention.

BEHAVIORAL

Weekly Supervised Group Exercise (40 min)

Add-on, once-weekly, 40-minute supervised group exercise session for 10 weeks. Session structure: \~5-min warm-up; \~20-min rhythmic/aerobic activity at moderate intensity (e.g., RPE 12-14); \~10-min core/strength work; \~5-min cool-down. Exercises are coach-guided with options to modify for comfort and safety. Attendance is recorded to monitor adherence.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Atlas University

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

25 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-08-01

Primary Completion

2025-04-01

Completion

2026-01-01

Countries

• Turkey (Türkiye)

Study Locations