TY - JOUR
T1 - Engineering Online and In-Person Social Networks for Physical Activity
T2 - A Randomized Trial
AU - Rovniak, Liza S.
AU - Kong, Lan
AU - Hovell, Melbourne F.
AU - Ding, Ding
AU - Sallis, James F.
AU - Ray, Chester A.
AU - Kraschnewski, Jennifer L.
AU - Matthews, Stephen A.
AU - Kiser, Elizabeth
AU - Chinchilli, Vernon M.
AU - George, Daniel R.
AU - Sciamanna, Christopher N.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, through grant K99/R00 HL088017 (Principal Investigator: Dr. Rovniak). Support was also provided by the National Center for Research Resources and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, through grants UL1 TR000127 (Drs. Kong and Kraschnewski) and KL2 TR000126 (Dr. Kraschnewski). Dr. Matthews received support from Penn State's Population Research Institute, which receives core funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development through grant R24 HD41025. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute or the National Institutes of Health. We thank Connie Bechtel, BS, CSCS, NASM-CPT, Charity Sauder, MS, Erica Bates, MD, LeAnn Denlinger, MD, Ellen Duveneck, MD, Erik Lehman, MS, and Matthew Solovey for their assistance in conducting this study.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, The Society of Behavioral Medicine.
PY - 2016/12/1
Y1 - 2016/12/1
N2 - Background: Social networks can influence physical activity, but little is known about how best to engineer online and in-person social networks to increase activity. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to conduct a randomized trial based on the Social Networks for Activity Promotion model to assess the incremental contributions of different procedures for building social networks on objectively measured outcomes. Methods: Physically inactive adults (n = 308, age, 50.3 (SD = 8.3) years, 38.3 % male, 83.4 % overweight/obese) were randomized to one of three groups. The Promotion group evaluated the effects of weekly emailed tips emphasizing social network interactions for walking (e.g., encouragement, informational support); the Activity group evaluated the incremental effect of adding an evidence-based online fitness walking intervention to the weekly tips; and the Social Networks group evaluated the additional incremental effect of providing access to an online networking site for walking as well as prompting walking/activity across diverse settings. The primary outcome was mean change in accelerometer-measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), assessed at 3 and 9 months from baseline. Results: Participants increased their MVPA by 21.0 min/week, 95 % CI [5.9, 36.1], p = .005, at 3 months, and this change was sustained at 9 months, with no between-group differences. Conclusions: Although the structure of procedures for targeting social networks varied across intervention groups, the functional effect of these procedures on physical activity was similar. Future research should evaluate if more powerful reinforcers improve the effects of social network interventions. Trial Registration Number: The trial was registered with the ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01142804).
AB - Background: Social networks can influence physical activity, but little is known about how best to engineer online and in-person social networks to increase activity. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to conduct a randomized trial based on the Social Networks for Activity Promotion model to assess the incremental contributions of different procedures for building social networks on objectively measured outcomes. Methods: Physically inactive adults (n = 308, age, 50.3 (SD = 8.3) years, 38.3 % male, 83.4 % overweight/obese) were randomized to one of three groups. The Promotion group evaluated the effects of weekly emailed tips emphasizing social network interactions for walking (e.g., encouragement, informational support); the Activity group evaluated the incremental effect of adding an evidence-based online fitness walking intervention to the weekly tips; and the Social Networks group evaluated the additional incremental effect of providing access to an online networking site for walking as well as prompting walking/activity across diverse settings. The primary outcome was mean change in accelerometer-measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), assessed at 3 and 9 months from baseline. Results: Participants increased their MVPA by 21.0 min/week, 95 % CI [5.9, 36.1], p = .005, at 3 months, and this change was sustained at 9 months, with no between-group differences. Conclusions: Although the structure of procedures for targeting social networks varied across intervention groups, the functional effect of these procedures on physical activity was similar. Future research should evaluate if more powerful reinforcers improve the effects of social network interventions. Trial Registration Number: The trial was registered with the ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01142804).
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U2 - 10.1007/s12160-016-9814-8
DO - 10.1007/s12160-016-9814-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 27405724
AN - SCOPUS:84978049993
VL - 50
SP - 885
EP - 897
JO - Annals of Behavioral Medicine
JF - Annals of Behavioral Medicine
SN - 0883-6612
IS - 6
ER -