Brief Program in Reducing Sedentary Behavior and Promoting Physical Exercise

NCT ID: NCT02645071

Last Updated: 2021-01-11

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 141 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2015-07-31
• Study Completion Date: 2017-07-31

Brief Summary

Lack of physical activity was found to be a local and worldwide issue. Most Hong Kong people are having sedentary lifestyle. Researchers show that the increase of physical activity reduces the risk of chronic diseases, and improve cardio-pulmonary functions; whereas sedentary behaviors increase the risks.

For many people, the targets of the WHO physical activity guidelines are too high to be achieved. Some people are not even willing to try, despite the evidence for the protective benefits to their long term health. In response, a recent focus has been placed upon reduction of sedentary behavior. Sedentary behavior is defined as 'those activities that do not increase energy expenditure substantially above the resting level, such as sitting, lying down, or viewing TV, or simply as "too much sitting". The primary determinants of sedentary behavior are behavioral and context-based, such as TV and screen-focused behaviors in home and work environments, sitting at work, and sitting during transport. The public health leaders have called for reducing the time spent in sedentary behaviors as a possible public health priority. This study will focus on reduction of sedentary behavior and increasing physical activity in daily life. We hypothesize that the training programs would promote the health awareness of the participants.

Detailed Description

Physical activity is believed to contribute to physical and mental health, as well as social well-being. World Health organization (WHO) proposed that tobacco use, alcohol abuse, poor diets and physical inactivity are the common risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCD) (WHO, 2014). The health benefits of regular physical activity (PA) are well established, including positive associations with psychological well-being and an inverse relationship with various illnesses.

Lack of physical activity was found to be a local and worldwide issue and most Hong Kong people are having a sedentary lifestyle. Studies show that the increase of physical activity reduces the risk of chronic diseases, and improve cardio-pulmonary functions; whereas sedentary behaviors increase the risks. In response, a recent focus has been placed upon reduction of sedentary behavior. The primary determinants of sedentary behavior are behavioral and context-based, such as TV and screen-focused behaviors in home and work environments, sitting at work, and sitting during transport. As a result, public health leaders have called for reducing the time spent in sedentary behaviors as a possible public health priority.

This study will focus on reduction of sedentary behavior and increasing physical activity in daily life. The intervention will promote activities that can be done without using extra time (Zero-time exercise). These exercises will encourage participants to use larger muscle groups than they would simply sitting or standing, but are designed to be done by all ages and all fitness levels. For example, while standing, participants will be encouraged to balance on one leg, which will engage stomach and leg muscles. There is evidence that these types of movements create cardiovascular and skeletal muscle changes.

The intervention is a 15- to 20- minute interactive session program, which aims to reduce participants' sedentary behavior and increase physical activity by increasing their motivation, self-efficacy and knowledge of different types of easy movements (Zero-time exercises). We hypothesize that the training programs would promote the health awareness of the participants.

The primary objective is to promote the health awareness on reducing sedentary behavior and/or increasing physical exercise. The secondary objectives are to enhance intention and confidence of participants to encourage their family members to reduce sedentary and/or increasing physical exercise.

Conditions

Physical Activity

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NA
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Physical activity

The experimental arm is a 15-20 min interactive session, which aims to reduce participants' sedentary behavior and increase physical activity by increasing their motivation, self-efficacy, and knowledge of different types of easy exercises.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Physical Activity

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

A brief education program in reducing sedentary behavior and promoting physical exercise with family would be conducted. Assessments will be conducted in two different time points, before training session (T1), immediately following training (T2) and two weeks after training (T3) to evaluate the effectiveness of training program.

Interventions

Physical Activity

A brief education program in reducing sedentary behavior and promoting physical exercise with family would be conducted. Assessments will be conducted in two different time points, before training session (T1), immediately following training (T2) and two weeks after training (T3) to evaluate the effectiveness of training program.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Chinese speaking
• Able to complete the questionnaire
• Aged 18 or above

Exclusion Criteria

• People with serious health condition that might prevent them from participating in physical activity

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 100 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

The University of Hong Kong

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Dr. Agnes Yuen-Kwan Lai

Research Officer

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Agnes YK LAI, DN

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

The University of Hong Kong

Locations

Department of Health

Hong Kong, , Hong Kong

Countries

Hong Kong

References

Bellicha A, Kieusseian A, Fontvieille AM, Tataranni A, Charreire H, Oppert JM. Stair-use interventions in worksites and public settings - a systematic review of effectiveness and external validity. Prev Med. 2015 Jan;70:3-13. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2014.11.001. Epub 2014 Nov 10.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 25449692 (View on PubMed)

Gardiner PA, Eakin EG, Healy GN, Owen N. Feasibility of reducing older adults' sedentary time. Am J Prev Med. 2011 Aug;41(2):174-7. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2011.03.020.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 21767725 (View on PubMed)

Kamani CH, Gencer B, Montecucco F, Courvoisier D, Vuilleumier N, Meyer P, Mach F. Stairs instead of elevators at the workplace decreases PCSK9 levels in a healthy population. Eur J Clin Invest. 2015 Oct;45(10):1017-24. doi: 10.1111/eci.12480. Epub 2015 Aug 26.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 26081791 (View on PubMed)

Torbeyns T, Bailey S, Bos I, Meeusen R. Active workstations to fight sedentary behaviour. Sports Med. 2014 Sep;44(9):1261-73. doi: 10.1007/s40279-014-0202-x.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 24842828 (View on PubMed)

Related Links

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs385/en/

World Health Organization (2015). Physical activity : Fact sheet

http://www.chp.gov.hk/en/behavioural/10/280.html

Department of Health (2014). Behavioral Risk Factor Survey

Other Identifiers

UW15-743

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id