Clinical trial NCT06089876: The Use of Mobile Applications in Obese and Overweight Adolescents for Health Improvement
Official title: The Use of Step Tracker Mobile Applications in Overweight and Obese Adolescents for the Promotion of Physical Activity and the Improvement of Kinanthropometric Variables, Fitness and Psychological State
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Overweight Adolescents
Obesity, Adolescent
Physical Inactivity
Mobile Phone Use
Behavior, Health
Lead sponsor: Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2023-10-19
Enrollment: 60
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 12
Maximum age (years): 16
Standard ages: CHILD
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

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.


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.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Physical Activity Level
timeFrame: Through study completion, an average of 25 weeks
measure: Use of internet
timeFrame: Through study completion, an average of 25 weeks
measure: Use of mobile phone
timeFrame: Through study completion, an average of 25 weeks
measure: Handgrip Strength
timeFrame: Through study completion, an average of 25 weeks
measure: VO2 max.
timeFrame: Through study completion, an average of 25 weeks
measure: Countermovement jump (CMJ)
timeFrame: Through study completion, an average of 25 weeks
measure: Hamstrings flexibility
timeFrame: Through study completion, an average of 25 weeks
measure: Speed
timeFrame: Through study completion, an average of 25 weeks
measure: Curl-up
timeFrame: Through study completion, an average of 25 weeks
measure: Push-up
timeFrame: Through study completion, an average of 25 weeks
measure: Height
timeFrame: Through study completion, an average of 25 weeks
measure: Weight
timeFrame: Through study completion, an average of 25 weeks
measure: Fat mass
timeFrame: Through study completion, an average of 25 weeks
measure: Fat-free mass
timeFrame: Through study completion, an average of 25 weeks
measure: BMI
timeFrame: Through study completion, an average of 25 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
measure: User version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale
timeFrame: Through study completion, an average of 25 weeks
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Murcia
country: Spain
facility: Universidad de Murcia
Study officials:
affiliation: Universidad de Murcia
name: Raquel Vaquero-Cristóbal, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: