Financial Incentives to Exercise for Adolescents

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Obesity
Sedentary Lifestyle
Insulin Resistance

Interventions: Behavioral: Exercise training

Registration Number: NCT01848353

Lead Sponsor: University of Oklahoma

Brief Summary: Among youth populations, American Indians have the highest prevalence of diabetes in the United States. This study will use exercise as the principal lifestyle modification approach to reduce the risk of diabetes in this population. The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma has several excellent, but underutilized wellness facilities in their Health Services Area in rural Southeast Oklahoma, a low socioeconomic region. It has been established that exercise lowers diabetes risk, and many overweight/obese, insulin resistant American Indian youth who live in this region would benefit from an increase in regular exercise. The challenge is to modify behavior so that routine exercise is established and maintained. The proposed study will test whether monetary incentives can elicit greater frequency and duration of exercise in American Indian youth when transportation and access barriers are reduced.

Detailed Description: Study participants in the intervention arm of the study will be asked to exercise on 3 days per week for 48 weeks. Clinical and physical assessments will be performed at baseline and after 16, 32 and 48 weeks. Participants will be randomized into one of two groups. Each group will receive payment for exercise sessions completed but one group will be on a fixed schedule of compensation and the other will have a schedule that incentivizes frequency or duration of exercise. In addition, two reference groups of age-matched participants who are normal weight and subclassified as having either low or high levels of physical activity and fitness will be tested. The reference groups will complete baseline tests and will not enter the exercise intervention program.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 142

Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Standard payment, phase 1	Exercise training	All participants will perform exercise training. Participants in this arm will receive a fixed amount of money for exercise session lasting at least 20 minutes during weeks 1-16 (phase 1). All exercise recommendations and outcome tests will be same for this group as the experimental group so that the two groups differ only in the financial incentives they receive for exercise behavior.
Incentivized payment, phase 2	Exercise training	All participants will perform exercise training. Participants in this arm will receive an increasing amount of money when they exercise for longer than 20 minutes per session during weeks 17-32 (phase 2). All exercise recommendations and outcome tests will be same for this group as the active comparator group so that the two groups differ only in the financial incentives they receive for exercise behavior
Raffle payment, phase 3	Exercise training	All participants will perform exercise training. In weeks 33-48 (phase 3)participants in this arm will receive fewer financial incentives than in the prior 32 weeks but they will be delivered through a raffle system to utilize a variable reinforcement approach. All exercise recommendations and outcome tests will be same for this group as the active comparator group so that the two groups differ only in the financial incentives they receive for exercise behavior.
Ramp-down payment, phase 3	Exercise training	All participants will perform exercise training. This phase will last from weeks 33-48 (phase 3). Participants in this arm will receive a fixed amount of money for exercise session lasting at least 20 minutes, but the value of the payments will decrease weekly (ramp-down) until reaching zero in week 41. All exercise recommendations and outcome tests will be same for this group as the experimental group so that the two groups differ only in the financial incentives they receive for exercise behavior.
Standard payment, phase 2	Exercise training	All participants will perform exercise training. Participants in this arm will receive a fixed amount of money for exercise session lasting at least 20 minutes during weeks 17-32 (phase 2). All exercise recommendations and outcome tests will be same for this group as the experimental group so that the two groups differ only in the financial incentives they receive for exercise behavior.
Incentivized payment, phase 1	Exercise training	All participants will perform exercise training. Participants in this arm will receive an increasing amount of money when they increase exercise frequency (number of days) during weeks 1-16 (phase 1). All exercise recommendations and outcome tests will be same for this group as the active comparator group so that the two groups differ only in the financial incentives they receive for exercise behavior

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change From Baseline in Volume of Exercise (Total Time)	at baseline (week 0) and weeks 16, 32, and 48.	Frequency and duration of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity will be measured using heart rate monitors. The monitors will be worn each exercise session. Participants are asked to complete 3 exercise sessions per week throughout the 48-week period of enrollment. The primary comparison between the experimental and active comparator groups will be the volume of exercise (total time) accumulated. Comparisons will be made for accumulated exercise volume at 16, 32, and 48 weeks and the change from baseline (week 0).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Insulin Resistance	at baseline (week 0) and weeks 16, 32, and 48.	Fasting blood glucose and insulin concentration will be measured and used to calculate the homeostatic model of assessment for insulin resistance (iHOMA2, %S). Testing will be performed at baseline (week 0) and weeks 16, 32, and 48. Data analysis will focus on the change from baseline and whether that change differs between groups.
Exercise Fitness	at baseline (week 0) and weeks 16, 32, and 48.	Peak oxygen uptake (VO2max) during a progressive intensity bicycle test to fatigue. Testing will be performed at baseline (week 0) and weeks 16, 32, and 48. Data analysis will focus on the change from baseline and whether that change differs between groups.
Body Composition	at baseline (week 0) and weeks 16, 32, and 48.	Body fat content. Testing will be performed at baseline (week 0) and weeks 16, 32, and 48. Data analysis will focus on the change from baseline and whether that change differs between groups.

Trial Locations

Locations (2): Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Healthcare
🇺🇸
Hugo, Oklahoma, United States
Choctaw Nation Diabetes Wellness Center
🇺🇸
Talihina, Oklahoma, United States