Feelings About Exercise

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Obesity
Physical Activity

Interventions: Behavioral: Physical activity information
Behavioral: Affect and physical activity

Registration Number: NCT03598647

Lead Sponsor: The Miriam Hospital

Brief Summary: This study seeks to investigate why some individuals exercise more than others by focusing on feelings related to exercise. This two part study first examines whether regular exercisers (n=30) and non-exercisers (n=30) differ in how a 30-minute moderate-intensity exercise bout makes them feel. All participants will walk on a treadmill for 30 minutes on two separate occasions and will be asked to report on how they feel before, during, and after exercise, how they anticipate that exercise will make them feel, and how they remembered feeling during exercise. In addition, after exercise session #2, non-exercisers will be randomized to: 1) a brief intervention focused on providing general information about the physical activity guidelines, or 2) a brief intervention which provides general information about physical activity guidelines, but also focuses on affective responses to physical activity. Non-exercisers will complete an identical, third exercise session approximately 1-week following this intervention. Further, all participants will receive a 12-week, Internet-delivered weight loss program following all exercise visits and physical activity will be assessed before and after the weight loss program.

Detailed Description: Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 60

Inclusion Criteria

Age 18-60 years
BMI between 25.0 and <40.0 kg/m2
Either a 'Non-exerciser', defined as reporting exercising at a moderate-intensity for <30 min/week over the past 6 months and a most recent typical week or an 'exerciser', defined as exercising for ≥150 min/week over the past 6 months and a most recent typical week.

Exclusion Criteria

Presence of any condition that would limit one's ability to exercise (e.g., orthopedic limitations)
History of coronary artery disease (i.e., myocardial infarction or symptoms of angina), stroke, diabetes, or pulmonary disease (e.g., COPD or emphysema).
Currently taking any medication that would alter heart rate (e.g., beta blocker)
Women who are pregnant or nursing
Uncontrolled hypertension (resting blood pressure ≥140/90 mmHg)
Exercising >30 min/week but <150 min/week (i.e., neither 'non-exerciser' nor 'exerciser')
Use of medications for weight loss, or current participation in another weight loss program
Bariatric surgery

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Physical activity information - for non-exercisers only	Physical activity information	Non-exercisers randomized to this condition will receive basic information about physical activity. This includes the national physical activity guidelines,clarification of 'moderate-intensity', exercise safety, and the progression of physical activity within the weight loss program.
Affect and physical activity - for non-exercisers only	Affect and physical activity	Non-exercisers randomized to this condition will receive the same basic information about physical activity as described above, but they will also receive a brief intervention focused on affective responses to exercise.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Anticipated During Exercise Affect (Session 2)	prior to exercise session	How one anticipates that they will feel during exercise session 2 (an exercise session that is identical to exercise session 1).This was assessed prior to exercise session 2 via a 100 mm visual analogue scale (range 1-100) where a higher number indicates more positive affect.
Mean During Exercise Affect (Session 1)	average score assessed every 5 minutes during exercise, up to 30 minutes	Average during exercise Feeling Scale (FS) score which was assessed every 5 minutes during exercise. Feeling Scale scores range from -5 to +5 with higher values indicating more positive affect.
Post-exercise Affect (Session 1)	15 minutes post-exercise	Feeling Scale (FS) score 15 minutes post-exercise. Feeling Scale scores range from -5 to +5 with higher values indicating more positive affect.
Memory of Post-exercise Affect (Session 1) - Calculated as the Difference Between Recalled Post-exercise Affect and Actual Post-exercise Affect	15 minutes and 7 days post-exercise	Calculated as follows: recalled post-exercise affect (assessed 7 days following exercise session) minus actual post-exercise affect (Feeling Scale score assessed 15 minutes post-exercise). Possible scores for both recalled affect and actual affect range from -5 to +5, where higher numbers indicate more positive affect. A negative change value indicates that participants remembered feeling less positive post-exercise than they actually felt.
Pre-exercise Affect (Session 1)	Prior to exercise	Measured using Feeling Scale (FS) prior to exercise bout. Scores range from -5 to +5 with higher values indicating more positive affect
Memory of During Exercise Affect (Session 1) - Calculated as the Difference Between Recalled During Exercise Affect and Actual During Exercise Affect	average score assessed every 5 minutes during exercise, up to 30 minutes, and 7 days post-exercise	Calculated as follows: recalled during exercise affect (assessed 7 days post-exercise) minus actual during exercise affect (average of Feeling Scale scores every 5 minutes during exercise). Possible scores for both recalled affect and actual affect range from -5 to +5, where higher numbers indicate more positive affect. A negative change value indicates that participants remembered feeling less positive during exercise than they actually felt.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Pre-exercise Affect (Session 3)	Prior to exercise	Measured using Feeling Scale (FS) prior to exercise bout. Scores range from -5 to +5 with higher values indicating more positive affect
Mean During Exercise Affect (Session 3)	average score assessed every 5 minutes during exercise, up to 30 minutes	Average during exercise Feeling Scale (FS) score which was assessed every 5 minutes during exercise. Feeling Scale scores range from -5 to +5 with higher values indicating more positive affect.
Post-exercise Affect (Session 3)	15 minutes post-exercise	Feeling Scale (FS) score 15 minutes post-exercise. Feeling Scale scores range from -5 to +5 with higher values indicating more positive affect.