Year-round effects of a four-week randomized controlled trial using different types of feedback on employees' physical activity.

BACKGROUND: This follow-up study investigated the year-round effects of a four-week randomized controlled trial using different types of feedback on employees' physical activity, including a need-supportive coach intervention. METHODS: Participants (n = 227) were randomly assigned to a Minimal Intervention Group (MIG; no feedback), a Pedometer Group (PG; feedback on daily steps only), a Display Group (DG; feedback on daily steps, on daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity [MVPA] and on total energy expenditure [EE]), or a Coaching Group (CoachG; same as DG with need supportive coaching). Daily physical activity level (PAL; Metabolic Equivalent of Task [MET]), number of daily steps, daily minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), active daily EE (EE > 3 METs) and total daily EE were measured at five time points: before the start of the 4-week intervention, one week after the intervention, and 3, 6, and 12 months after the intervention. RESULTS: For minutes of MVPA, MIG showed higher mean change scores compared with the DG. For steps and daily minutes of MVPA, significantly lower mean change scores emerged for MIG compared with the PG. Participants of the CoachG showed significantly higher change scores in PAL, steps, minutes of MVPA, active EE, total EE compared with the MIG. As hypothesized, participants of the CoachG had significantly higher mean change scores in PAL and total EE compared with groups that only received feedback. However, no significant differences were found for steps, minutes of MVPA and active EE between CoachG and PG. CONCLUSIONS: Receiving additional need-supportive coaching resulted in a higher PAL and active EE compared with measurement (display) feedback only. These findings suggest to combine feedback on physical activity with personal coaching in order to facilitate long-term behavioral change. When it comes to increasing steps, minutes of MVPA or active EE, a pedometer constitutes a sufficient tool. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trails.gov NCT01432327 . Date registered: 12 September 2011.

The Impact of Different Degrees of Feedback on Physical Activity Levels: A 4-Week Intervention Study.

Assessing levels of physical activity (PA) and providing feedback about these levels might have an effect on participant's PA behavior. This study discusses the effect of different levels of feedback--from minimal to use of a feedback display and coach--on PA over a 4-week intervention period. PA was measured at baseline, during and immediately after the intervention. Participants (n=227) were randomly assigned to a Minimal Intervention Group (MIG-no feedback), Pedometer Group (PG-feedback on steps taken), Display Group (DG-feedback on steps, minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity and energy expenditure) or Coaching Group (CoachG-same as DG with need-supportive coaching). Two-way ANCOVA showed no significant Group×Time interaction effect for the different PA variables between the MIG and PG. Also no differences emerged between PG and DG. As hypothesized, CoachG had higher PA values throughout the intervention compared with DG. Self-monitoring using a pedometer resulted in more steps compared with a no-feedback condition at the start of the intervention. However, adding individualized coaching seems necessary to increase the PA level until the end of the intervention.

Validation of the SenseWear Armband in different ambient temperatures.

This study examines the validity of the SenseWear Armband in different temperatures using the old (SenseWear v2.2) and newest version of the algorithm (SenseWear v5.2) against indirect calorimetry (IC). Thirty-nine male and female students (21.1 ± 1.41 years) completed an exercise trial in 19°C, 26°C and 33°C consisting of 5 min standing followed by alternating walking/running at 35% and 65% of their maximal oxygen uptake. The accuracy of the algorithms was evaluated by comparing estimated energy expenditure (EE) to IC using a mixed-model design. No difference was reported in EE between the different temperatures for IC. Both algorithms estimated EE significantly higher when exercising at high intensity in 33°C compared to 19°C. Compared to IC, SenseWear v2.2 accurately estimated EE during standing and light intensity exercise but underestimated EE when exercising in a hot environment and at high intensity. SenseWear v5.2 showed a difference when exercising at high intensity in thermoneutral and warm conditions. The new algorithm improved EE estimation in hot environments and at high intensity compared to the old version. However, given the inherent inaccuracy of the EE estimates of SenseWear, greater weight should be given to direct monitor outputs rather than the ability of a monitor to estimate EE precisely.

Validation of the SenseWear Pro3 Armband using an incremental exercise test.

The purpose of this study is to assess the accuracy of a multisensor activity monitor in measuring energy expenditure (EE) using an incremental exercise test. The SenseWear Pro3 Armband (SWA) has been shown a valid and practical tool in measuring the EE of daily living activities but shows significant errors in estimating EE of activities of vigorous and very vigorous intensity. Recently, a new algorithm was developed for SWA (SWA v5.2). The aim of this study was to validate the new SWA algorithm in assessing EE using an incremental exercise test. Data were obtained from 44 students (age, 21.1 ± 1.4 years). During an incremental running test, EE estimates of the SWA were compared with the indirect calorimetry (IC). A paired t-test, Bland and Altman plots, and correlation coefficients were used as statistical techniques. Compared with the IC, the SWA showed no significant difference when walking at 1.5 m·s (p = 0.901) but significantly underestimated EE at higher speeds starting from a jogging speed of 1.67 m·s for men and from a running speed of 2 m·s for women. The underestimation increased significantly with increasing intensity in both male and female participants. The accurate measurement of EE at moderate intensity makes the monitor a valid tool in estimating daily life activities. However, our study results question the applicability of the monitor for individuals willing to monitor their EE during vigorous or very vigorous exercise intensities because a significant underestimation of the new algorithm is still present. In future, the EE algorithm needs to be further adjusted to give an accurate estimate of EE for high-intensity exercises.

The effects of physical activity feedback on behavior and awareness in employees: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Purpose. The SenseWear Armband (SWA) is a multisensor activity monitor that can be used in daily life to assess an individual's physical activity level (PAL). The primary goal of this study was to analyze the impact of different types of feedback on the PAL of Flemish employees. Methods/Design. We recruited 320 sedentary employees (age, 41.0 ± 10.7 years; BMI, 26.2 ± 4.2 kg/m(2)) to participate in the 12-month study. Participants were randomized into one of four intervention groups after being measured for 7 days and nights by means of the SWA: (1) a minimal intervention group received no feedback (MIG, n = 56); (2) a pedometer group was provided only information on their daily step count (PG, n = 57); (3) a display group received feedback on calories burned, steps taken, and minutes of physical activity by means of the SWA display (DG, n = 57); (4) a coaching group also received the display and had weekly meetings with a Personal Coach (CoachG, n = 57). We hypothesize that participants receiving feedback (SG, DG, and CoachG) will have a greater increase in physical activity outcome variables compared to participants of the minimal intervention group.

Open feedback in gymnastic judging causes conformity bias based on informational influencing.

The aims of this study were twofold: (1) to determine whether open feedback (i.e. the ability to hear or see the scores of colleague judges after each performance) would lead judges in gymnastics to conform with their colleagues, and (2) to identify the underlying process on which this conformity is based. Twenty-three certified Flemish judges in women's gymnastics were randomly divided into panels of a maximum of five judges. These panels had to rate the same 30 videotaped individual vaults: 15 in phase 1 and 15 in phase 2. Two independent variables were orthogonally manipulated: feedback (or no feedback) during phase 1 and feedback (or no feedback) during phase 2. The results of phase 1 revealed that the variation between the judges' scores was less within panels that had received feedback than within panels that had not received feedback. We therefore conclude that the availability of feedback elicits conformity among gymnastic judges. The results of phase 2 indicated that this conformity continued even when feedback was no longer provided, suggesting that the observed conformity was based on informational influencing (i.e. because of uncertainty about the correct responses) and not on normative influencing (i.e. out of fear of standing out in the group).