Roybal Via Habit Formation

NCT07848178 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: AM260787
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 10
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This pilot study will develop and evaluate ViaHabit, a personalized walking intervention designed to promote physical activity habit formation among sedentary midlife adults (ages 45-65). During an initial 2-week observation period, participants' daily routines will be characterized using data collected from wearable devices, smartphones, and digital calendars. Personalized models will identify routine transitions, defined as periods between everyday activities, that may serve as receptive opportunities for initiating physical activity. Participants will then complete a 4-week intervention in which they create individualized "if-then" action plans linking routine transitions to a 15-minute brisk walk and receive automated smartwatch prompts at selected cue times. The study will assess the feasibility and acceptability of identifying routine transitions and delivering timely physical activity prompts, while exploring changes in walking behavior, habit strength, and physical activity engagement.

Conditions

Physical Inactivity; Sedentary Lifestlye

Keywords

Habit Formation; Physical Activity; Behavioral Intervention; Mobile Health (mHealth); Smartwatch; Physical Activity Promotion; Midlife Adults; Behavioral Automaticity

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Feasibliity of the ViaHabit Intervention - Recruitment

  Feasibility will be assessed by participant recruitment rates.

  Week 8 (end of intervention)

• Feasibliity of the ViaHabit Intervention - Retention

  Feasibility will be assessed by participant retention rates.

  Week 8 (end of intervention)

• Feasibliity of the ViaHabit Intervention - Data Collection

  Feasibility will be assessed by participant completion of Phase 1 data collection.

  Week 8 (end of intervention)

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Habit Strength for Walking

  Baseline and weekly during the 4 week intervention period through Week 8

Study Arms (1)

ViaHabit Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants complete a 2-week observation period during which individualized routine models are developed using wearable, smartphone, and calendar data, followed by a 4-week ViaHabit intervention consisting of routine-transition cue selection, if-then action planning, and automated smartwatch prompts to support initiation of 15-minute brisk walks.

Behavioral: ViaHabit

Interventions

ViaHabit BEHAVIORAL

ViaHabit is a personalized, cue-based walking intervention designed to promote physical activity habit formation in sedentary midlife adults. Following a 2-week observation period, individualized routine models are developed using data collected from wearable devices, smartphones, and digital calendars. Participants then complete a coaching session to identify up to two routine transitions that can serve as cues for physical activity and develop personalized if-then action plans linking each cue to a 15-minute brisk walk. During the 4-week intervention period, automated smartwatch notifications are delivered at the selected routine-transition cues to increase cue salience and support initiation of walking behavior. The intervention aims to strengthen cue-behavior associations through repeated pairing of routine completion cues with walking, thereby increasing behavioral automaticity and physical activity participation.

ViaHabit Intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 45 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Age 45 to 65 years.
• Reports no leisure-time physical activity during the past month and engages in \<400 MET-minutes/week of physical activity as assessed by the IPAQ-Short Form.
• Has competing role demands, defined as ≥10 hours/week of paid work, caregiving, parenting, or volunteer activities.
• Owns an iPhone (iOS smartphone) with reliable internet access and is willing to use study-related mobile applications and wearable devices.
• Able to walk without assistance.
• Uses, or is willing to use, a digital calendar application and share de-identified event timing data with the study team.
• Able to understand study procedures and provide informed consent.

You may not qualify if:

• Plans to relocate or engage in extended travel during the next 3 months.
• Pregnant or planning to become pregnant during the study period.
• Currently participating in another physical activity or behavioral intervention study.
• Has a medical condition that may limit safe participation in walking, impair the ability to provide informed consent, or interfere with study adherence.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Penn State University: collaborator
• Louisiana State University and A&M College: lead

Study Sites (1)

Louisiana State University School of Kinesiology

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70803, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Sedentary Behavior; Motor Activity

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Central Study Contacts

Shiyu Li, PhD

CONTACT

225-578-0977; sli40@lsu.edu

Kimberly Allen, MA

CONTACT

225-578-2363

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor

Model Details: This study uses a personalized computational modeling approach to identify routine transitions that may serve as opportunities for physical activity habit formation. During a 2-week observation period, participants' behavioral and contextual data are collected using an Apple Watch, smartphone, and digital calendar. These data are used to develop an individualized routine automaton model that characterizes recurring daily routines and transitions between routine states. The model identifies periods when one routine has ended and another has not yet begun, which are hypothesized to be receptive windows for initiating walking behavior. During the intervention phase, participants select routine-transition cues and develop if-then action plans linking those cues to a 15-minute brisk walk. Automated smartwatch prompts are delivered at identified transition points to enhance cue salience and support habit formation through repeated cue-behavior pairing.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 9, 2026
• First Posted: September 29, 2026
• Study Start: October 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): April 30, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2027
• Last Updated: September 29, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)