Snacktivity to promote physical activity WP4 v1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A multi-centre, open-label, two-arm, parallel group, individually randomised trial, with an internal pilot and economic evaluation, to test the superiority of Snacktivity compared with usual care
IRAS ID
336675
Contact name
Amanda Daley
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
There is strong evidence that being physically active and sitting less is important for health. Guidance states that adults should, over a week, complete at least 150-minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity. This is often promoted as 30-minutes on five days per week. However, few people manage to do this which puts their health at risk. The reason why so few people are meeting the current physical activity guidance may be because they have to make big changes to their lifestyle to meet this target, which can be difficult. An alternative is an idea we have called Snacktivity. Rather than encouraging people to do physical activity in longer bouts, Snacktivity focuses on encouraging people to do small physical activity ‘snacks lasting 2-5 minutes throughout the whole day, to achieve 150-minutes of physical activity per/week. We have developed a Snacktivity intervention to be delivered and promoted by health care providers within routine consultations in this study.
Participants will be randomised to receive standard advice about physical activity or encouraged to achieve their physical activity through Snacktivity (small changes). Snacktivity participants will receive a physical activity tracker (Fitbit) to help monitor their Snacktivity and overall physical activity and given access to a mobile phone App called the SnackApp that prompts and supports people to participate in Snacktivity. We will measure all participants’ physical activity at baseline, 3 and 12 months after they start the study to assess whether the Snacktivity intervention helps people to become more physically active. We will also measure other variables such as how participants feel about Snacktivity/activity and their mental health. We will assess whether the Snacktivity intervention is cost effective to the NHS.
REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/LO/0186
Date of REC Opinion
9 Apr 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion