Snacktivity WP1c
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Snacktivity- to promote physical activity and reduce future risk of disease in the population (WP1c - INtervnetion Development: SnackApp) Snacktivity into your day: Testing of the SnackApp and physical activity tracker
IRAS ID
281884
Contact name
Amanda Daley
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 3 days
Research summary
There is strong evidence that being active and sitting less is important for health. Guidance states that adults should, over a week, complete at least 150-minutes of moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity (30-minutes per/day) in periods of 10-mins or more. However, few people manage this which puts their health at risk, therefore a paradigm shift is required. Rather than encouraging people to do 30-minutes of physical activity each day in one go, or in 10 min periods, Snacktivity focuses on encouraging people to do small physical activity ‘snacks’, throughout the day so they achieve 150-minutes of activity per/week.
An activity snack might typically last between 2-5-minutes (e.g. walk-talk meetings/conversations; using stairs not the lifts; and taking the dog for extra short walks).
The use of technology to deliver lifestyle interventions has grown exponentially over the past decade. Technology-based interventions offer some key advantages over traditional behaviour change interventions. Technology-based interventions can reach a large number of people at a relatively low cost and offer increased access to the public at a time and place that suits their preferences, including the ability to overcome the need to attend face-to-face sessions to receive the intervention. As a population approach, smartphone-based interventions are very attractive as 90% of mobile phone users are in possession of their telephones 24 hours per/day. As most adults own mobile phone this immediately reduces the NHS costs of delivering such interventions. Technology-based interventions can integrate key behavioural change strategies, including self-monitoring, goal setting and regular feedback. Around ~76% of people aged >60 years own a mobile phone and evidence shows that older people are also interested in using mHealth.Therefore, we plan to develop a mobile phone app linked to a physical activity tracker called the SnackApp to facilitate Snacktivity.
Note: There are five work packages in this programme of work and the research described here refers to work package 1c. Work package 1a and 1b have already been approved by REC and HRA. IRAS Number: 272760
REC name
London - City & East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/PR/0323
Date of REC Opinion
8 Sep 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion