Effectivity of mHealth technologies to reduce sedentary behavior in an elderly population: a clinical trial

Abstract

Background: Sedentary behavior has been described as a key factor for the development of multiple chronic diseases, it also has shown to contribute to the physical deterioration and has been described as an independent risk factor to premature mortality. Those negative effects could be reverted by increasing the daily physical activity, as the WHO recommends. Notwithstanding the negative effects, the quantity of population not following the WHO recommendations is alarming, especially among elderly, even more now with the mobility restrictions due to COVID-19 pandemic. Lately, taking advantage of the increased use of mobile phones technologies, new applications have been developed to monitor health aspects from smartphones. The use of those new technologies to specially increase the daily physical activity performance has been proved in the younger population, and more studies are needed to establish its utility among elderly. Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate whether the use of step counter technologies (mHealth) reduces sedentary time in patients over 75 years. Design: This is a randomized clinical trial carried out in primary health care. Participants: The study population will include two groups of community elderly people over 75 years old. Methods: Patients will be randomly divided into two groups: group A (n= 199), where patients will be asked to use the Google Fit application or to wear a smart-watch, both used as a step counting tool; or group B (n= 199), where patients will receive educational health. Each individual will be followed for 3 months