Motivation to Exercise

NCT ID: NCT02444247

Last Updated: 2025-04-11

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 93 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2015-06-30
• Study Completion Date: 2017-02-28

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to understand how to make exercise more attractive to people.

Detailed Description

This investigation will address increased physical activity and will yield empirical evidence to inform developing tools to help individuals make healthy choices regarding physical activity (PA) and maintenance of healthy body weight. Behavioral Choice Theory provides a framework for understanding choices people make and how to shift an individual's choice toward healthier alternatives. The theory holds that choice is based on the relative motivating values of alternatives. One way to shift choice toward a healthier alternative is to increase the relative reinforcing value (RRV), or motivating value, of that alternative. Thus, increasing the RRV of PA behaviors could shift choice towards PA and away from less healthy, sedentary alternatives.

Increasing the RRV of PA may allow PA to compete with more reinforcing, sedentary behaviors, resulting in a shift in behavioral choice. This process is termed "incentive sensitization", which was originally proposed to explain drug addiction. Incentive Sensitization theory posits that the RRV of a behavior is increased through repeated exposures, which produce neuroadaptations that increase craving of the behavior - after repeated exposures to a stimulus, a 'sensitization' or hypersensitivity to the incentive motivational effects of the stimulus follows. Another factor that influences motivation for a behavior is the development of tolerance to unpleasant aspects of that behavior. Opponent-Process Theory would account for the acquisition of motives where the initial reinforcer may be negative - the affect experienced after repeated exposures is opposite to that experienced during the first few presentations. For exercise, this would include tolerance to any discomfort, pain, fatigue and displeasure and a greater positive post-exercise affective response: the affect experienced during and after exercise has a greater motivational significance in PA participation than knowledge and beliefs regarding health benefits. Therefore, the investigators propose that repeated exposures to PA will produce tolerance to unpleasant aspects while increasing the post-exercise affect. Sensitizing PA reinforcement and increasing discomfort tolerance may be associated with increasing the duration and intensity of daily activity. There are likely to be individual differences in sensitization of PA reinforcement and development of discomfort tolerance. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that alter dopamine tone in the central dopaminergic reward system and SNPs associated with altered pain perception may contribute to such individual differences. The investigators anticipate that a moderate PA dose (300 kilocalorie [kcal] expenditure) will produce greater incentive sensitization and tolerance than a low dose (150 kcal) and that SNPs related to central dopamine tone and pain perception may contribute to individual differences in incentive sensitization and changes in physical activity after repeated exposures to physical activity.

Conditions

Overweight; Obesity; Physical Activity

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: OTHER
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

High Dose Exercise vs Sedentary Option

Relative Reinforcing Value of high dose exercise (300 kcal expenditure per session) versus sedentary activity will be determined.

Group Type: OTHER

High Dose Exercise (300 kcal)

Intervention Type: OTHER

Subjects will participate in 3 physical activity sessions per week expending 300 kcal per session and rate their liking of exercise.

Sedentary Option

Intervention Type: OTHER

Subjects will rate their liking of sedentary activities (reading magazines, playing word games, puzzles) as an alternative to exercise.

Low Dose Exercise vs Sedentary Option

Relative Reinforcing Value of low dose exercise (150 kcal expenditure per session) versus sedentary activity will be determined.

Group Type: OTHER

Low Dose Exercise (150 kcal)

Intervention Type: OTHER

Subjects will participate in 3 physical activity sessions per week expending 150 kcal per session and rate their liking of exercise.

Sedentary Option

Intervention Type: OTHER

Subjects will rate their liking of sedentary activities (reading magazines, playing word games, puzzles) as an alternative to exercise.

No Exercise vs Sedentary Option

Relative Reinforcing Value of no exercise (0 kcal expenditure per session) versus sedentary activity will be determined.

Group Type: OTHER

No Exercise (0 kcal)

Intervention Type: OTHER

Subjects will participate in 3 sessions per week expending 0 kcal per session and rate their liking of exercise.

Sedentary Option

Intervention Type: OTHER

Subjects will rate their liking of sedentary activities (reading magazines, playing word games, puzzles) as an alternative to exercise.

Interventions

High Dose Exercise (300 kcal)

Subjects will participate in 3 physical activity sessions per week expending 300 kcal per session and rate their liking of exercise.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Low Dose Exercise (150 kcal)

Subjects will participate in 3 physical activity sessions per week expending 150 kcal per session and rate their liking of exercise.

Intervention Type: OTHER

No Exercise (0 kcal)

Subjects will participate in 3 sessions per week expending 0 kcal per session and rate their liking of exercise.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Sedentary Option

Subjects will rate their liking of sedentary activities (reading magazines, playing word games, puzzles) as an alternative to exercise.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• BMI within 19-35 kg/m2
• Healthy enough to exercise
• Sedentary (not regularly engaging in exercise more than once per week)

Exclusion Criteria

• Taking any medications that affect energy expenditure or eating
• Have gained or lost more than 10 pounds over the past 3 months
• Use tobacco
• Pregnant or lactating or plan to become pregnant in the next 6 months
• Have any medical conditions that prevent the individual from safely joining in physical activity
• Have high work-related activity such as construction and farm work

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 49 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

USDA Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center

FED

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

James N Roemmich, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

USDA Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center

Locations

USDA Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center

Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States

Countries

United States

Other Identifiers

GFHNRC400

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id