Increasing Physical Activity Among Sedentary Older Adults:What, Where, When, and With Whom

Physical activity is broadly beneficial for physical, psychological, and cognitive aspects of
health, yet only one in five U.S. adults meets the CDC physical activity guidelines. Making
physical activity accessible and feasible throughout life is an important public health
policy objective that is within reach with the right kind of behavioral and environmental
supports. The project aims to provide such supports for an active lifestyle thereby
contributing to healthy aging. The goal of this project is to increase physical activity
(i.e., walking) in sedentary older adults by providing the environmental and behavioral
resources to incorporate additional steps into their daily lives. The investigators will use
a behavioral approach that fosters a sense of control and facilitates planning by focusing on
the what, when, where, and with whom aspects of their physical activity. The investigators
propose a user-friendly, practical way to increase steps. By providing people with specific,
tailored information about the number of steps one can get by walking a certain distance or
during a certain amount of time, participants can better plan when, where, and with whom they
will be able to achieve the desired number of steps, break goals into manageable portions (at
different times throughout the day or week), and thereby increase the likelihood of goal
achievement.

During the app development phase, the investigators will demonstrate the app to 5 to 10 older
adults to get their input. The goal will be to get their feedback about the app features and
to make sure it is user friendly. The investigators will ask questions about the ease of
using the app and their understanding of the app features. The interviewer will record their
answers to share with the research team and app developer. Modifications to the app will be
made as needed.

During the next phase of the study, the investigators will test whether the full app program
is successful in increasing steps and whether it is more effective than the basic app that
only includes step counting and goals, similar to a fitness tracker or pedometer. A minimum
of 30 participants will be randomly assigned to two conditions: the app with step counting
and goals alone, or the full version of the app with the step counting and goals, schedule,
maps, and social components. It is predicted that the intervention group will improve more on
outcome measures than the control group.

Inclusion Criteria:

- Sedentary adults, who own an iphone.

- Participants must be fit enough to walk for at least 20 minutes at a time.

Exclusion Criteria:

- Cognitive impairment

- A recent (within the past 6 months) cardiovascular event, or fall.

- Anyone who already exercises regularly: walks for exercise more than 30 minutes per
day, or does other forms of exercise 150 minutes per week or more, will be excluded.