Daily Activity Study of Health: Increasing Physical Activity in Aging

Not Applicable

Completed

Interventions: Behavioral: Motivational MRI and Behavioral Intervention
Behavioral: Control MRI and Behavioral Intervention

Brief Summary: In this six-week behavioral intervention, sedentary older adults will receive daily health messaging via their smart phone to better understand their daily activities and emotions. Participants undergo structural and functional brain imaging before and after the intervention along with measures of their behavioral, emotional and thinking functions.

Detailed Description: This project will obtain data on the effects of a six week intervention designed to increase subjects' motivation to increase their physical activity. Subjects will be randomized into two different conditions to examine the efficacy of self-affirmation + positive messaging versus a control group that receives negative messaging only on changes in physical activity.

We will also examine whether any differential physical activity or structured exercise engendered in the two groups is maintained at 3 months post-intervention.

Secondary outcome measures will include a battery of cognitive, psychosocial, and neuroimaging measures that are designed to explicate the mechanisms that underlie motivation effects for physical activity in sedentary older adults.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Age range 60-95
Not exercising more than 150 minutes of moderate/vigorous intensity per week AND sitting more than 8 hours per day
No contraindications to MRI (if opting for MRI)
Being able to speak English fluently
Body Mass Index (BMI) between 20 and 40
Normal or corrected-normal vision based on the minimal 20/20 standard
Ambulatory without severe pain or the assistance of walking devices
No diagnosis of a neurological disease
Regular access to a computer with internet or smartphone

Exclusion Criteria

Primary care physician does not approve additional physical activity
Inability to ambulate without assistive device
Any unstable medical condition
Current diagnosis of a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) Axis I or II disorder including Major Depression
History of major psychiatric illness including schizophrenia (not including general anxiety disorder or depression)
Current treatment for cancer - except non-melanoma skin
Neurological condition (multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, dementia, mild cognitive impairment) or brain injury (traumatic or stroke)
Current alcohol or substance abuse
Current treatment for congestive heart failure, angina, uncontrolled arrhythmia, deep vein thrombosis or other cardiovascular event
Myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass grafting, angioplasty or other cardiac condition in the past year
Not passing the Telephone Interview of Cognitive Status (TICS) as normal
Use of any anti-psychotic, anti-depressant, anti-anxiety, and attention deficit disorder (ADD/ADHD) medications.

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Intervention	Motivational MRI and Behavioral Intervention	Brain MRI and Motivational Behavioral Intervention
Active control	Control MRI and Behavioral Intervention	Brain MRI and Control Behavioral Intervention

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in Sedentary Behavior (Average Hour/Day)	Baseline; 6-week	This metric quantifies the change in the average amount of time spent sedentary each day in hours, from the baseline period to the 6-week follow-up period. It is a marker of time spent inactive.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity	Baseline; 6-week	This measure focuses on the change in average moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) daily minutes after the intervention compared to the pre-intervention average MVPA baseline.