Clinical trial NCT02785107: Exercise Habit and M-PAC
Official title: Facilitating an Exercise Habit Via the Multi-Process Action Control Model: A Randomized-Controlled Trial
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: PHASE2
PHASE3
Conditions: Public Health
Keywords: Exercise
Habit
MVPA
M-PAC
Automaticity
Physical Activity
Lead sponsor: University of Victoria
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2016-05-27
Enrollment: 94
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 65
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: The promotion of physical activity (PA) is paramount to public health, yet interventions in the social cognitive tradition have yielded negligible improvements. Two reasons for these results may be the over reliance on intention as the proximal determinant of behaviour and a lack of consideration of implicit/automatic determinants of PA. The purpose of this study was to apply Multi-Process Action Control (M-PAC), a framework centered on PA intention-translation and the gradual building of habit to examine PA change using a two-arm parallel design, randomized controlled trial.

Detailed description: Background: Two of the most prominent limitations of traditional social cognitive models used to understand moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) are the gap between intention and behaviour and the lack of consideration of implicit processes in behavioural enactment. Thus, new models are now being examined that attempt to consider these potential limitations. Multi-Process Action Control (M-PAC) is one such attempt to build a more comprehensive schematic, whereby intention is established via the means of constructs from traditional social cognitive theories (i.e., outcome expectations, perceived capability), but the success of translating this intention to behaviour depends on behavioural-regulation (self-regulatory tactics) (BR), affective judgments (expected pleasure) (AJ) and opportunity (time, access). Over time, M-PAC proposes that habit (stimulus -behaviour bonds) and identity (role-behaviour bonds) develop from performing the behaviour and largely contribute to the maintenance of PA.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to conduct at two-arm parallel design, RCT to determine if the M-PAC experimental group would demonstrate greater change in PA and post-intention constructs across time.

Methods: Participants (n=94) were inactive new gym members and were randomized into a control or M-PAC experimental group. The experimental group attended a workshop and received a booster phone call follow-up at week four. Measures for both groups included accelerometry and M-PAC at baseline and at week eight.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* New gym member
* age 18-65
* Par-Q pass

Exclusion Criteria:

* age \<18 or 65+
* Par-Q fail

Primary outcomes:
measure: GT3X+ Actigraph Activity Monitors (for measuring physical activity)
timeFrame: Baseline to week eight
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Self-Report Behavioural Automaticity Index (self report, survey question)
timeFrame: Baseline, week four, week eight
Other outcomes:
measure: Environmental Cues (self report, survey question)
timeFrame: Baseline, week four, week eight
measure: Temporal Consistency (self report, survey question)
timeFrame: Baseline, week four, week eight
Locations:
city: Victoria
country: Canada
facility: University of Victoria
state: British Columbia
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Victoria
name: Navin Kaushal, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Kaushal N, Rhodes RE, Spence JC, Meldrum JT. Increasing Physical Activity Through Principles of Habit Formation in New Gym Members: a Randomized Controlled Trial. Ann Behav Med. 2017 Aug;51(4):578-586. doi: 10.1007/s12160-017-9881-5.