Effectiveness of a website and mobile phone based physical activity and nutrition intervention for middle-aged males: Trial protocol and baseline findings of the ManUp Study

Abstract

BackgroundCompared to females, males experience higher rates of chronic disease and mortality, yet few health promotion initiatives are specifically aimed at men. Therefore, the aim of the ManUp Study is to examine the effectiveness of an IT-based intervention to increase the physical activity and nutrition behaviour and literacy in middle-aged males (aged 35–54 years).Method/DesignThe study design was a two-arm randomised controlled trial, having an IT-based (applying website and mobile phones) and a print-based intervention arm, to deliver intervention materials and to promote self-monitoring of physical activity and nutrition behaviours. Participants (n = 317) were randomised on a 2:1 ratio in favour of the IT-based intervention arm. Both intervention arms completed assessments at baseline, 3, and 9 months. All participants completed self-report assessments of physical activity, sitting time, nutrition behaviours, physical activity and nutrition literacy, perceived health status and socio-demographic characteristics. A randomly selected sub-sample in the IT-based (n = 61) and print-based (n = 30) intervention arms completed objective measures of height, weight, waist circumference, and physical activity as measured by accelerometer (Actigraph GT3X). The average age of participants in the IT-based and print-based intervention arm was 44.2 and 43.8 years respectively. The majority of participants were employed in professional occupations (IT-based 57.6%, Print-based 54.2%) and were overweight or obese (IT-based 90.8%, Print-based 87.3%). At baseline a lower proportion of participants in the IT-based (70.2%) group agreed that 30 minutes of physical activity each day is enough to improve health compared to the print-based (82.3%) group (p = .026). The IT-based group consumed a significantly lower number of serves of red meat in the previous week, compared to the print-based group (p = .017). No other significant between-group differences were observed at baseline.DiscussionThe ManUp Study will examine the effectiveness of an IT-based approach to improve physical activity and nutrition behaviour and literacy. Study outcomes will provide much needed information on the efficacy of this approach in middle aged males, which is important due to the large proportions of males at risk, and the potential reach of IT-based interventions.Trial registrationACTRN12611000081910

Characteristics of Smartphone Applications for Nutrition Improvement in Community Settings: A Scoping Review

“…Of the 4818 titles identified from the database search, 64 articles were included: 9 reporting dietary self-monitoring trials (38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46), 18 reporting nutritionimprovement trials (36,(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52)(53)(54)(55)(56)(57)(58)(59)(60)(61)(62)(63), 30 reporting applicationdevelopment projects (37,, and 7 reporting qualitative studies with consumers (93)(94)(95)(96)(97)(98)(99). Five reports were published in 2016, 16 each in 2015 and 2014, 11 in 2013, and 16 between 2008 and 2012.…”

“…Separate interfaces for care givers and children were valued by care givers but not children (50,77). The importance of the application being functional without an internet connection was expressed by all population groups (36,40,45,68,90,95,98), with data access particularly limited for adolescents (40). Excessive data entry for setup and logins was reportedly undesirable (36,93,98,99).…”

A mobile phone enabled health promotion program for middle-aged males

“…On completion of each challenge either before or on the defined period, they could choose to continue with the same intensity level or move to a 978-1-4577-0216-7/13/$26.00 ©2013 IEEE higher or lower level of the physical activity and healthy eating behavior program. More detailed information on the protocol was published recently in [6].…”

“…The participants recruited in one arm of the ICT intervention were middleaged males aged 35 to 54 years old who owned a mobile telephone. Details of the complete protocol was recently published in reference [6]. The RCT was recently completed and the data from the mobile phone intervention is currently being evaluated for anlaysis of uptakes and adherence of mobile intervention within the ICT-based health promotion delivery.…”

“…A consortium of institutions, such as the Central Queensland University, CSIRO, and University of Western Sydney, was awarded research opportunity to address through an Information Communication Technology (ICT) based strategy. This ICT based strategy used the smart phone and internet with WEB2.0, to deliver a lifestyle modification of physical activity and nutrition to middle-aged men ( years), with the support of Queensland Health [6]. This health promotional strategy was called ManUp.…”