Effects of Virtual Reality Exercise on Promoting Physical Activity and Health Among College Students

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Physical Activity Levels; Cardiovascular Fitness; Body Composition; Situational Interest; Situational Motivation; Mood States; Depressive Symptoms

• Registration Number: NCT06902727
• Lead Sponsor: The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Brief Summary

The purpose of this research is to examine the effectiveness of a 4-week immersive-virtual reality (VR) exercise bike intervention on college students' physiological outcomes (physical activity levels, cardiovascular fitness, and body composition) and psychological outcomes (situational motivation, situational interest, mood states, and depressive symptoms).

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2020-09-28
• Primary Completion: 2020-11-01
• Study Completion: 2021-07-01
• Status Verified: 2025-03
• Study First Submitted: 2025-03-03
• Study First Submitted QC: 2025-03-27
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-03-27
• Study First Posted: 2025-03-30
• Last Update Posted: 2025-03-30

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 36

Inclusion Criteria

• College students age from 18 to 35 years old who are currently enrolled in the university
• College students without diagnosed physical and/or mental disabilities
• Must be willing to provide informed consent and compete the PA Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q)
• Must be willing to be randomized into an intervention or control group
• no self-reported motion sickness symptoms during immersive VR-based exercise

Exclusion Criteria

• Students under the age of 18 or over the age of 35 years old or not currently enrolled in the university
• Having self-reported physical and/or mental disabilities
• Contradictions to PA participation as determined by PAR-Q responses
• having motion sickness reaction when exercising under VR-based condition.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Exercise Motivation	Baseline, and 4 weeks	Participants' motivation were assessed by the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnire-2 (BREQ-2). The BREQ-2 has 19 items assessing the continuum of behavioral regulation in exercise, which included amotivation, external regulation, introjected regulation, identified regulation, and intrinsic regulation.
Mood States	Baseline, and 4 weeks	Participants' mood states were measured by the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS). The BRUMS assesses mood across six subscales (anger, confusion, depression, fatigue, tension, and vigor) using a 24-item questionnaire with responses ranging from 0 (not at all) to 4 (extremely).
Depressive Symptoms	Baseline, and 4 weeks	The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used to assess participant's depressive symptoms. This is a 21-item, self-report rating inventory that measures characteristic attitudes and symptoms of depression. The total score was calculated to the evaluate the severity of depressive symptoms.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Cardiovascular fitness levels	Baseline, and 4 weeks	Investigators asked participants to step on and off of a 12-inch plyometric box for 3 minutes to the "beep" of a metronome set to 96 beats-per-minute, with each beep corresponding with one leg movement. Immediately following the completion of the test, the principal investigator measured participants' heart rate for 60 seconds via palpation of the radial artery on the underbelly of the left wrist.
Physical activity levels	Baseline, and 4 weeks	Physical activity levels were assessed via International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). The IPAQ assesses three specific types of activity: walking, moderate-intensity activities, and vigorous-intensity activities. It asks participants to recall the time (in minutes) spent on each of these activities in the past 7 days.; Each participant were assigned an accelerometer to wear during each 60-minute exercise session. Prior to the start of the intervention, participants were asked to wear an accelerometer for one week for measuring their physical activity levels. In addition, the investigators asked participants to wear the accelerometer for another week at the completion of 4-week intervention.
Body Mass Index	Baseline, and 4 weeks	Participant height (cm) and weight (kg) were measured using a stadiometer and a Tanita BC-558 IRONMAN Segmental Body Composition Monitor, respectively, in theUniversity of Minnesota's Physical Activity Epidemiology Laboratory. Both height and weight were used to calculate BMI in kg/m². BMI was classified according to the following indicators: Underweight: BMI \< 18.5; Normal weight: BMI 18.5-24.9; Overweight: BMI 25-29.9; Obesity: BMI ≥ 30.
Percent of body fat	Baseline, and 4 weeks	Percent of body fat (%BF) were measured by Tanita BC-558 IRONMAN Segmental Body Composition Monitor.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; 🇺🇸 Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States