CommitFit App to Facilitate Health Behavior Change in Clinic Adolescents

NCT06985251 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2092610
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

We conducted a 3-month RCT with 30 adolescents (aged 13-15 years) and their caregivers to evaluate the effectiveness of the novel mHealth app "CommitFit", which uses gamification to motivate users to log and achieve health behavior goals. The RCT had three arms: (1) CommitFit only users, (2) CommitFit$, adolescents were paid $0.05 for each point they earned, and (3) Control. Software analytics, surveys, BMI, and blood pressure were evaluated at baseline, 3 months, and 4 months.

Conditions

Overweight Adolescents

Keywords

mHealth; obesity; adolescent; parent; caregiver; financial incentives; behavior modification; user engagement

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• BMI percentile

  Change in BMI percentile for adolescents

  Baseline to 4 months

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• BMI

  Baseline to 4 months

• %goal achieved

  Baseline to 4 months

Other Outcomes (6)

• %logged

  Baseline to 4 months

• blood pressure

  Baseline to 4 months

• GAD7

  Baseline to 4 months

Study Arms (3)

CommitFit$

EXPERIMENTAL

Adolescents in CommitFit$ were paid $0.05 for each point they earned when using app

Other: gamified mHealth app with financial incentives

CommitFit

EXPERIMENTAL

Caregivers and Adolescents using CommitFit app without additional financial incentives

Other: gamified mHealth lifestyle app

Control

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Attention, wait-list controls were emailed monthly healthy lifestyle handouts and were allowed to download CommitFit after 4 month study period ended.

Other: Attention Control

Interventions

gamified mHealth lifestyle app OTHER

The CommitFit mHealth app uses gamification techniques to motivate adolescents and caregivers to set and achieve health behavior goals (eat more fruits or vegetables, increase water intake, decrease sugary beverage intake, increase physical activity, or increase overnight sleep). Users are ranked on leaderboard based on their points and can team up with caregivers on a team leaderboard.

CommitFit

Attention Control OTHER

Standard of care healthy lifestyle handouts were emailed monthly to control families.

Control

gamified mHealth app with financial incentives OTHER

The CommitFit mHealth app uses gamification techniques to motivate adolescents and caregivers to set and achieve health behavior goals (eat more fruits or vegetables, increase water intake, decrease sugary beverage intake, increase physical activity, or increase overnight sleep). Users are ranked on leaderboard based on their points and can team up with caregivers on a team leaderboard. CommitFit$ adolescents received an extra $0.05 for each point they earned in the app.

CommitFit$

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 13 Years - 15 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Missouri-Columbia: lead

Study Sites (1)

South Providence Medical Park

Columbia, Missouri, 65203, United States

Location

Related Publications (2)

• Braddock A, Ghosh P, Montgomery E, Lim C, Ghosh J, Henry N, Popescu M, Kimchi K, Guo C, Bosworth KT, Koopman RJ. Effectiveness of an mHealth App That Uses Financial Incentives and Gamification to Promote Health Behavior Change in Adolescents and Caregivers: Protocol for a Clinic-Based Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Res Protoc. 2024 Sep 10;13:e63505. doi: 10.2196/63505.

  PMID: 39255473 BACKGROUND

• Henry N, Montgomery E, Ghosh P, Bosworth KT, Lim C, Ghosh J, Popescu M, Kimchi K, Guo C, Smith J, Braddock A. Caregiver inclusion influence on adolescent acceptance and engagement of an mHealth app, a randomized controlled trial. Mhealth. 2025 Oct 29;11:57. doi: 10.21037/mhealth-24-97. eCollection 2025.

  PMID: 41211016 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Obesity

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Overweight; Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Body Weight; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 14, 2025
• First Posted: May 22, 2025
• Study Start: August 29, 2023
• Primary Completion: February 23, 2024
• Study Completion: February 23, 2024
• Last Updated: May 22, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL
• Time Frame: Start date will be upon publication of primary outcomes, anticipated to be 1/1/2026. There will be no end date as deidentified data will be available permanently through the data repository at the University of Missouri (MOspace Institutional Repository)
• Access Criteria: All data will be shared within IRB and HIPAA-approved parameters. The PI will monitor and restrict access of identified data to IRB-approved staff. Deidentified data submitted to MOspace will be publicly accessible

Locations

US (1)