Lottery Incentives for Moving

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The purpose of the study is to learn more about effective ways to motivate people to increase their non-exercise energy expenditure exercise. This is an important research question because obesity and weight-related issues are increasingly becoming a problem in America. This project will address this research question by testing the effect of two different incentive schemes in motivating employees who are predominantly sedentary to use Walkstations at work. The Walkstations are treadmills that move at a very slow rate (maximum 2miles / hour) and are attached to a work station (i.e. with computer and telephone); they therefore are designed to increase energy spent not through heavy exercise, but through small changes in posture and movement associated with routines in daily life (called nonexercise activity thermogenesis or NEAT). Subjects will be employees of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA). Subjects will be the control participants from the previous Walkstation study we ran with BCBSMA. All 120 control participants from this previous study will be told that they can now participate in a study that involves the Walkstations (up until now, they have not been given access to the Walkstations). These participants from the previous study will be sent an email informing them that they are eligible to participate in this new Walkstation pilot. Those who are interested in participating will then be invited to sign up for an enrollment session. There will be no incentives for participating in the initial enrollment session. For the 2 month follow-up session, participants will have a chance to win 1 of 3 prizes (1 * $100, 2 * $50) for completing the follow-up.

Conditions
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Obesity, Sedentary Lifestyle

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Incentive to exercise


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: must pass ParQ Exclusion Criteria: if fail ParQ

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 65 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Basic Science
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Active Comparator: Personal incentive<br>If participants attain their walkstation usage goal, they are entered into bi-weekly lotteries to win money. | Behavioral: Incentive to exercise<br>* Participants who attain their walkstation goal will be entered into a draw every two weeks. We are testing the effect of different prizes on walkstation usage.<br>|
| Active Comparator: Token incentive<br>Participants who attain their walkstation usage goal will be entered into a bi-weekly prize to win a token reward. | Behavioral: Incentive to exercise<br>* Participants who attain their walkstation goal will be entered into a draw every two weeks. We are testing the effect of different prizes on walkstation usage.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Walkstation usage |  | after approx 60 days | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Biometric measures | Height, weight, blood pressure | baseline and 60 days | 
| Questionnaire |  | baseline and 45 days |