The Impact of Real-time Feedback on Physical Activity Patterns in Flemish Employees

Not Applicable

Completed

Interventions: Device: SenseWear Armband
Device: Pedometer
Behavioral: Personal Coaching
Device: SenseWear display

Brief Summary: The aim of the study is to assess an increase of daily physical activity from electronic self-monitoring, to compare these values to the 10.000 step program, and to compare with real-time feedback with and without guidance from a Personal Coach.

Detailed Description: The purpose of this intervention study is to determine the effectiveness of continuous self-monitoring and real-time feedback from the SenseWear Armband (BodyMedia) alone and in combination with Personal Coaching to enhance physical activity and influence consciousness about its own physical activity patterns over a 12-month period in sedentary Flemish employees. The investigators hypothesize that the use of the feedback will increase awareness and subsequent physical activity levels of inactive office workers. Another hypothesizes is that the weekly meeting with a Personal Coach will add a controlling element and therefore employees of the 'coaching group' will have a higher physical activity level at the end of the intervention period compared to the other groups.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Exclusion Criteria

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Control group	SenseWear Armband	This group receives no kind of feedback during the intervention period. The participants wear the SenseWear Armband for 4 weeks and results of the intervention are discussed after the 4 week intervention period.
Step Group	Pedometer	This group receives feedback about the daily amount of steps by means of a pedometer.
Coaching Group	Personal Coaching	Participants receive real-time feedback on their energy expenditure, step count and minutes of physical activity by means of the SenseWear Display and weekly meet with a Personal Coach to discuss their progress
Display Group	SenseWear display	Participants receive real time feedback on their energy expenditure, minutes of physical activity and step count by means of the SenseWear Display

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Physical Activity Level	One year	To account for differences in body size and composition, the 24-hour energy requirement (kcal/day) is expressed as a multiple of the basal metabolic rate per 24 hours by using the PAL value (PAL = total energy expenditure/basal metabolic rate). A desirable PAL includes the regular practice of physical activity at work or in spare time with an intensity and duration that will reduce the risk of becoming overweight and developing a variety of non-communicable chronic diseases usually associated as co-morbidities with obesity. This corresponds to PAL values of 1.75 and higher.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Step Count	One Year	Daily number of steps
Stages of Motivational Readiness for Physical Activity	One Year	According to The Stages of Motivational Readiness for Change Model (SOC), individuals move through a series of stages as they adopt and maintain a new habit(Prochaska \& DiClemente, 1983). Specifically, the stages include Precontemplation, Contemplation, Preparation, Action, and Maintenance.The relevant variables were assessed in a self-administered questionnaire.
Percent of Participants Losing Fat Percentage	One Year	The amount of body fat is measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA).
Daily Energy Expenditure in Physical Activity	One year	Minutes of physical activity. Activities can be classified as moderate-intensity, vigorous-intensity or very vigorous-intensity activities based upon the amount of energy used by the body while doing the activity.