Brief ReportRandomized Trial of a Fitbit-Based Physical Activity Intervention for Women
Introduction
Given the established relationship between inactivity and chronic disease, physical activity (PA) promotion is a priority for postmenopausal women.1, 2, 3, 4 Accelerometer-based tracking devices and apps are of interest for use in scalable PA interventions because they can encourage the use of theory-driven self-regulation skills known to be associated with behavior change success.5, 6 One example is the Fitbit tracker, which collects activity data, uploads it to the web, and produces simple graphs and charts. Published studies examining the Fitbit as an intervention tool are currently limited to two single-arm studies7, 8 and one randomized trial.9 The aims of this trial are to examine (1) the acceptability of the Fitbit among postmenopausal, overweight/obese women; and (2) the effect of a Fitbit-based intervention on PA (Figure 1).
Section snippets
Participants
Participants were 51 overweight, postmenopausal women performing <60 minutes/week of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA)10 (to ensure they were well below the recommended 150 minutes/week11) who were regular Internet users, owned a computer/tablet, and could exercise safely.12
Study Visits
Participants attended three visits at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Procedures were approved by the UCSD Human Research Protections Program. At the initial visit, informed written consent was
Results
Participants (N=51) were aged 60.0 (SD=7.1) years with a BMI of 29.2 (3.5) and groups were comparable on key characteristics (Table 1). At baseline, women were performing 33 (56) minutes/week of MVPA in bouts ≥10 minutes in length (as specified by the PA guidelines15) and accumulating 5,866 (2,195) steps/day.
Relative to baseline, the Web-Based Tracking Group increased MVPA in bouts by 38 (83) minutes/week (p<0.01); increased total MVPA by 62 (108) minutes/week (p=0.008); and increased steps/day
Discussion
In this study, a Fitbit-based intervention was associated with increased PA, with no change observed in the Pedometer Group. Although between-group tests did not reach significance, this may be due to sample size. The increase of 62 minutes/week of MVPA observed in the Fitbit arm is substantial, particularly if maintained over time. This maintenance would likely require progressive goal increases established via periodic contact with investigators via web or telephone. This study’s findings
Acknowledgments
This study was funded by NIH (1R03CA168450) and recruitment supported by the Athena Breast Health Network. This research was supported by the National Cancer Institute (1R03CA168450). This research was conducted at the University of California, San Diego, while Dr. Cadmus-Bertram was on the faculty there. The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.
ClinicialTrials.gov identifier: NCT01837147.
No financial disclosures were reported by the authors of this paper.
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