The Use of Mobile Applications in Obese and Overweight Adolescents for Health Improvement

NCT ID: NCT06089876

Last Updated: 2023-10-23

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: UNKNOWN
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 60 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2023-09-25
• Study Completion Date: 2024-02-16

Brief Summary

Overweight and obesity, understood as an accumulation of abnormal and excessive fat, are the second leading cause of preventable and avoidable mortality in developed countries, with more than 340 million children and adolescents affected by this disease worldwide. As a consequence, overweight and obesity at an early age is already considered a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), with a high incidence in developed countries.

The abuse of new technologies has remained at worrying levels in the post-COVID period, favoring an increase in the adolescent population considered sedentary. In this regard, up to 70% of adolescents show sedentary behaviors, especially affecting the time spent on screens by both males (93.8%) and females (87.2%). Thus, the use of the cell phone has been shown to be a determining factor, since between 10% and 16% of adolescents show a problematic use of this device, affecting, among other aspects, their behavior during their free time.

In recent years there has been an increase in sedentary time among adolescents and a decrease in the practice of physical activity that has favored a greater accumulation of body fat and increased the probability of being overweight or obese. In this context, some studies have tried to encourage the practice of physical activity in the school context in overweight and obese population, being these interventions effective to improve body composition.

However, these interventions also have their detractors, who argue that the hours of Physical Education are too limited to dedicate so much time to a single content, and that the pedagogical component is often overlooked in their implementation. As an alternative to the above, it has been suggested that Physical Education classes could be used to promote interventions that encourage adolescents to practice physical activity in their free time, and mobile applications could be used to monitor the activity carried out by adolescents, but also as an element that generates adherence and enjoyment in this population. Research in this population using these technologies is scarce, therefore, this project aims to determine the effectiveness of a ten-week intervention promoted from the subject of physical education in which a mobile application is used after school hours on physical activity, body composition and fitness in overweight or obese adolescents.

Conditions

Overweight Adolescents; Obesity, Adolescent; Physical Inactivity; Mobile Phone Use; Behavior, Health

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: DOUBLE

Study Groups

"Strava" Application

STRAVA is an application that allows you to record your physical activity. Using GPS, it allows you to record the distance traveled with different types of physical activity (walking, running, swimming, among others). In addition, it allows you to create a community and clubs within the same community with which you can propose group trails.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

STRAVA mobile application

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

The adolescents in the intervention group will use the STRAVA mobile application for a period of 10 weeks. To do so, they will follow the instructions provided by the researchers on the frequency of use, the distance to be covered and how to record it.

Control Group

They will not use any type of sports technology application. They will continue to perform their daily activities without intervention.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

STRAVA mobile application

The adolescents in the intervention group will use the STRAVA mobile application for a period of 10 weeks. To do so, they will follow the instructions provided by the researchers on the frequency of use, the distance to be covered and how to record it.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Be a student of compulsory secondary education
• Present an BMI > 25.0
• Not present any disease or surgical operation that would prevent the performance of the physical tests or the follow-up of the established intervention.
• Complete the questionnaires provided and carry out the established tests in their entirety.
• Have access to any mobile device that allows access to the technological sports applications used in the intervention.

Exclusion Criteria

• Failure to complete the questionnaires provided and/or to take the prescribed tests in their entirety.
• Failure to complete scheduled intervention activities.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 12 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 16 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Raquel Vaquero-Cristóbal

Investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Raquel Vaquero-Cristóbal, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Universidad de Murcia

Locations

Universidad de Murcia

Murcia, , Spain

Countries

Spain

References

Mateo-Orcajada A, Ponce-Ramirez CM, Abenza-Cano L, Vaquero-Cristobal R. Effects of 10 Weeks of Walking With Mobile Step-Tracking Apps on Body Composition, Fitness, and Psychological State in Adolescents Who Are Overweight and Obese: Randomized Controlled Trial. J Med Internet Res. 2024 Dec 10;26:e55243. doi: 10.2196/55243.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 39656510 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

AFYNNTT-ESOCARM

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id