Does feedback from activity trackers influence physical activity? Evidence from a randomized controlled trial

Last registered on June 17, 2021
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Does feedback from activity trackers influence physical activity? Evidence from a randomized controlled trial
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0007831
Initial registration date
June 16, 2021

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
June 17, 2021, 2:36 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
June 17, 2021, 2:49 PM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Htay-Wah Saw
Affiliation
University of Michigan
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Arie Kapteyn
PI Affiliation
University of Southern California
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Jill Darling
PI Affiliation
University of Southern California
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2019-07-17
End date
2020-02-13
Keywords
Behavior, Health
Additional Keywords
Fitbit, GENEActiv, Feedback Effect, Physical Activity
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
To estimate the effect of feedback provided by a commercial activity tracker (Fitbit Versa, FV) on measured physical activity (PA), we have designed an experiment in which participants (1) consecutively wear an activity monitor that provides feedback (Fitbit Versa) or (2) an activity monitor that does not provide feedback (GENEActiv, GA). During a one or two-day period subjects were wearing both devices, allowing for
calibration of FV to GA. We find a highly significant increase of about 7% in PA, resulting from the feedback provided by the commercial tracker.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Darling, Jill , Arie Kapteyn and Htay-Wah Saw. 2021. "Does feedback from activity trackers influence physical activity? Evidence from a randomized controlled trial." AEA RCT Registry. June 17. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.7831-1.1
Sponsors & Partners

Sponsors

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We asked respondents to wear electronic devices that tracked their activity level for 16 consecutive days.
Intervention Start Date
2019-07-17
Intervention End Date
2020-02-13

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Level of Physical Activity
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We have designed an experiment in which participants (1) consecutively wear an activity monitor that provides feedback (Fitbit Versa) for 8 consecutive days or (2) an activity monitor that does not provide feedback (GENEActiv, GA) for 8 consecutive days.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Individuals.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
120
Sample size: planned number of observations
120
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Wave 1 Arm 1: 32
Wave 1 Arm 2: 25
Wave 2 Arm 1: 31
Wave 2 Arm 2: 32
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
NA
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Southern California
IRB Approval Date
Details not available
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
February 13, 2020, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
February 13, 2020, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
120
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
82
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
81
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

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Program Files

Program Files
No
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials