Prosocial Exercise: Does Exercising for Charity Result in Greater Well-Being and Physical Activity?

NCT02573454 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: H14-03018
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 117
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether prosocial exercise (exercising for the benefit of others) results in greater well-being and physical activity when compared to personal exercise (exercising without attempting to benefit others). Participants will be randomly assigned to utilize one of two exercise apps for a two week period: Charity Miles, which allows users to donate money to charities based on exercise participation, or Nike+ Running, which is a standard GPS exercise app. Participants will be provided with questionnaires at pre- and post-test, at a 4 week-follow-up, and immediately before and after each use of the app.

Conditions

Sedentary Lifestyle

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Moderate-Vigorous Physical Activity assessed by the Godin's Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire (GLTEQ)

  A modified version of the Godin's Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire (GLTEQ; Godin \& Shephard, 1985) is employed

  Pre-test, 2-weeks post, 6-weeks post

Study Arms (2)

Prosocial Exercise

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants are provided with the intervention (App Assignment). In this arm, the participants are randomly assigned to the Prosocial Exercise group use a GPS exercise app named Charity Miles, in which users can earn donations for charities based on the miles they walk or run (approximately 25 cents for every mile).

Behavioral: App assignment

Personal Exercise

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants are provided with the intervention (App Assignment). In this arm, the participants are randomly assigned to the Personal Exercise group use a traditional GPS exercise app named Nike + Running, in which users can track the mileage that they walk or run (i.e., there is no opportunity to earn donations for charity through exercise behaviour).

Behavioral: App assignment

Interventions

App assignment BEHAVIORAL

Under-active undergraduates are assigned to use a GPS exercise app that is prosocial (i.e., allows the user to raise money for charities) or personal (does not allow the user to raise money for charities) in nature

Personal Exercise; Prosocial Exercise

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• able to read and write English,
• undergraduate student at UBC,
• owns a smart phone (i.e., android or iPhone), and
• participates in a maximum of three 30 minute sessions of moderate-vigorous activity per week.

You may not qualify if:

• individuals not cleared for physical activity engagement (i.e., those that do not pass the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire Plus (PAR-Q+) and do not obtain a doctor's approval).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of British Columbia: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of British Columbia

Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada

Location

Related Publications (9)

• Colley RC, Garriguet D, Janssen I, Craig CL, Clarke J, Tremblay MS. Physical activity of Canadian adults: accelerometer results from the 2007 to 2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey. Health Rep. 2011 Mar;22(1):7-14.

  PMID: 21510585 BACKGROUND

• Segar ML, Eccles JS, Richardson CR. Rebranding exercise: closing the gap between values and behavior. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2011 Aug 31;8:94. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-8-94.

  PMID: 21884579 BACKGROUND

• Segar ML, Richardson CR. Prescribing pleasure and meaning: cultivating walking motivation and maintenance. Am J Prev Med. 2014 Dec;47(6):838-41. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2014.07.001. Epub 2014 Aug 26. No abstract available.

  PMID: 25172091 BACKGROUND

• Ryan RM, Deci EL. On happiness and human potentials: a review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annu Rev Psychol. 2001;52:141-66. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.141.

  PMID: 11148302 BACKGROUND

• Rhodes RE, Fiala B, Conner M. A review and meta-analysis of affective judgments and physical activity in adult populations. Ann Behav Med. 2009 Dec;38(3):180-204. doi: 10.1007/s12160-009-9147-y.

  PMID: 20082164 BACKGROUND

• Bierhoff, H. W. (2005). Prosocial behaviour. New York: Psychology Press.

  BACKGROUND

• Thoits PA, Hewitt LN. Volunteer work and well-being. J Health Soc Behav. 2001 Jun;42(2):115-31.

  PMID: 11467248 BACKGROUND

• Dunn EW, Aknin LB, Norton MI. Spending money on others promotes happiness. Science. 2008 Mar 21;319(5870):1687-8. doi: 10.1126/science.1150952.

  PMID: 18356530 BACKGROUND

• Grant, A. M., Campbell, E. M., Chen, G., Cottone, K., Lapedis, D., & Lee, K. (2007). Impact and the art of motivation maintenance: The effects of contact with beneficiaries on persistence behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 103(1), 53-67.

  BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Sedentary Behavior

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Study Officials

• Mark Beauchamp, PhD

  University of British Columbia

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Dr. Mark Beauchamp

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 7, 2015
• First Posted: October 9, 2015
• Study Start: February 1, 2015
• Primary Completion: November 1, 2015
• Study Completion: November 1, 2015
• Last Updated: May 9, 2017

Record last verified: 2017-05

Locations

CA (1)