Text Messaging to Increase Physical Activity

Guide to Effective Programs
for Children and Youth

Text Messaging to Increase Physical Activity

OVERVIEW

The objective of this two-week program is to use text messaging as a strategy to increase physical activity among adolescents. An experimental evaluation found that text messages targeting affective beliefs (enjoyable/unenjoyable) increased the physical activity of inactive adolescents. The intervention had no impact on active adolescents. Instrumental text messages and affective/instrumental combined text messages had no impact on any adolescents’ physical activity.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target population: Adolescents.

The program aims to increase physical activity levels by sending adolescents one text message per day over a period of two weeks. The text messages are structured this way: “Physical activity can (make you feel)…What activity will you do today?” There are three treatment conditions in terms of the content of the text messages: 1) affective beliefs (“cheerful,” “inspired,” “proud”); 2) instrumental beliefs (“maintain healthy weight,” “increase energy levels,” “avoid illness”); or 3) a combination of these (half affective, half instrumental).

EVALUATION OF PROGRAM

Sirriyeh, R., Lawton, R., & Ward, J. (2010). Physical activity and adolescents: An exploratory randomized control trial investigating the influences of affective and instrumental text messages. British Journal of Health Psychology, 15, 825-840.

Evaluated population: A total of 128 adolescents ages 16-19 years participated in the evaluation at baseline. The adolescents were recruited from four “sixth form” schools. Each adolescent had a mobile phone, and 70 percent were female.

Approach: Adolescents in this pilot study were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions, 1) affective beliefs (N = 31), 2) instrumental beliefs ( N = 30), or 3) a combination of these (N = 31), or the control condition (N = 28). Adolescents in the control condition received one text message per week (“What activity will you do today?”) Adolescents were randomized using a random number generator, and stratified so that there was an equal distribution of participants in each of the four conditions (3 treatment and 1 control) in each school. Physical activity was assessed via adolescent self-report at baseline and at the end of the two-week intervention. There was no adjustment for clustering. The different treatment and control conditions were equivalent at baseline in terms of initial activity levels, gender, and school. Eight adolescents were lost to follow-up.

Results: Among participants who were inactive at baseline (but not those who were active at baseline), those who received the affective text messages increased their physical activity significantly more than those who received the instrumental, combined, and control text messages. There were no differences in physical activity between the instrumental, combined, and control text message groups.

A potential limitation is that no long-term data were collected in this pilot study, and it seems possible that participants reported higher levels of physical activity due to social desirability.

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

References

KEYWORDS: Adolescents, Youth, Young Adults, Males and Females, Physical Health Other

Program information last updated on 11/21/11.