Effectiveness and feasibility of family and peer challenge intervention with wearable technology on physical activity among middle schoolers in Utah: A pilot trial
Objective: To examine the preliminary effectiveness and feasibility of physical activity (PA) intervention in middle schoolers. Methods: This 6-week, multi-component PA intervention was conducted in Salt Lake City, Utah, between November 2021 and January 2022. The intervention included tracking dail...
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Preventive Medicine Reports |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335525001342 |
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| author | Sunku Kwon Yang Bai Youngwon Kim Ryan D. Burns Timothy A. Brusseau Wonwoo Byun |
| author_facet | Sunku Kwon Yang Bai Youngwon Kim Ryan D. Burns Timothy A. Brusseau Wonwoo Byun |
| author_sort | Sunku Kwon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective: To examine the preliminary effectiveness and feasibility of physical activity (PA) intervention in middle schoolers. Methods: This 6-week, multi-component PA intervention was conducted in Salt Lake City, Utah, between November 2021 and January 2022. The intervention included tracking daily PA using a wearable activity monitor, education on PA and health, weekly motivational videos, and group challenges within family or peer groups. Three classes from one public middle school (N = 75; 51 % girls, aged 12–13 years) were randomly allocated into the intervention (i.e., family or peer challenges) or control groups. Changes in daily activity time between pre- and post-intervention were assessed using ActiGraph accelerometers. The feasibility of the intervention was evaluated through measures of adherence, retention, and acceptability. Results: After the intervention, 51 (girls: 51 %; age: 13.0 ± 0.7) of all participants completed the entire study protocol. Linear mixed models showed no statistically significant differences between interventions and control in daily sedentary behavior and PA times. Adherence to the intervention was moderately high (> 60 %), with a retention of 68 %. We also observed high satisfaction with wearable technology (≥ 78 %) in middle school students. However, only 39 % of participants frequently used the mobile app for their group challenge. Conclusions: Wearable technology in PA intervention may be of interest to young adolescents but not effectively change youth PA behavior during a 6-week intervention. Further research with larger samples, longer intervention durations, and refined engagement strategies is required to more accurately evaluate the impact and feasibility of this intervention. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-18e17351296f4fb3873bd060ee4f8d56 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2211-3355 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | Preventive Medicine Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-18e17351296f4fb3873bd060ee4f8d562025-08-20T01:55:33ZengElsevierPreventive Medicine Reports2211-33552025-06-015410309510.1016/j.pmedr.2025.103095Effectiveness and feasibility of family and peer challenge intervention with wearable technology on physical activity among middle schoolers in Utah: A pilot trialSunku Kwon0Yang Bai1Youngwon Kim2Ryan D. Burns3Timothy A. Brusseau4Wonwoo Byun5Department of Research Support, A.T. Still University, Mesa, AZ, USA; Department of Health and Kinesiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USADepartment of Health and Kinesiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USASchool of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, ChinaDepartment of Health and Kinesiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USADepartment of Health and Kinesiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USADepartment of Health and Kinesiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Corresponding author at: Department of Health and Kinesiology, College of Health, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.Objective: To examine the preliminary effectiveness and feasibility of physical activity (PA) intervention in middle schoolers. Methods: This 6-week, multi-component PA intervention was conducted in Salt Lake City, Utah, between November 2021 and January 2022. The intervention included tracking daily PA using a wearable activity monitor, education on PA and health, weekly motivational videos, and group challenges within family or peer groups. Three classes from one public middle school (N = 75; 51 % girls, aged 12–13 years) were randomly allocated into the intervention (i.e., family or peer challenges) or control groups. Changes in daily activity time between pre- and post-intervention were assessed using ActiGraph accelerometers. The feasibility of the intervention was evaluated through measures of adherence, retention, and acceptability. Results: After the intervention, 51 (girls: 51 %; age: 13.0 ± 0.7) of all participants completed the entire study protocol. Linear mixed models showed no statistically significant differences between interventions and control in daily sedentary behavior and PA times. Adherence to the intervention was moderately high (> 60 %), with a retention of 68 %. We also observed high satisfaction with wearable technology (≥ 78 %) in middle school students. However, only 39 % of participants frequently used the mobile app for their group challenge. Conclusions: Wearable technology in PA intervention may be of interest to young adolescents but not effectively change youth PA behavior during a 6-week intervention. Further research with larger samples, longer intervention durations, and refined engagement strategies is required to more accurately evaluate the impact and feasibility of this intervention.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335525001342Wearable technologyGroup challenge interventionMiddle schoolersPhysical activityDaily steps |
| spellingShingle | Sunku Kwon Yang Bai Youngwon Kim Ryan D. Burns Timothy A. Brusseau Wonwoo Byun Effectiveness and feasibility of family and peer challenge intervention with wearable technology on physical activity among middle schoolers in Utah: A pilot trial Preventive Medicine Reports Wearable technology Group challenge intervention Middle schoolers Physical activity Daily steps |
| title | Effectiveness and feasibility of family and peer challenge intervention with wearable technology on physical activity among middle schoolers in Utah: A pilot trial |
| title_full | Effectiveness and feasibility of family and peer challenge intervention with wearable technology on physical activity among middle schoolers in Utah: A pilot trial |
| title_fullStr | Effectiveness and feasibility of family and peer challenge intervention with wearable technology on physical activity among middle schoolers in Utah: A pilot trial |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effectiveness and feasibility of family and peer challenge intervention with wearable technology on physical activity among middle schoolers in Utah: A pilot trial |
| title_short | Effectiveness and feasibility of family and peer challenge intervention with wearable technology on physical activity among middle schoolers in Utah: A pilot trial |
| title_sort | effectiveness and feasibility of family and peer challenge intervention with wearable technology on physical activity among middle schoolers in utah a pilot trial |
| topic | Wearable technology Group challenge intervention Middle schoolers Physical activity Daily steps |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335525001342 |
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