Incentivizing Physical Activity Using Gamification, A Pilot Study

Juniors and seniors will be recruited to participate in the study, which will begin in the fall 2016 and run through May. The intervention will be a randomized-controlled trial, where students are randomized to either a control or incentive condition. Physical activity will be automatically tracked throughout the study period using FitBit activity trackers wirelessly linked to the gaming application on students' Chromebooks or mobile phones. Students who achieve 30 minutes of MVPA during the school day and/or 60 minutes of MVPA over the entire day will receive in-game rewards moving them up leaderboards in the game, providing them with more game points, or allowing them access to more game elements. Baseline outcome measures will be collected at the beginning of the school year in the fall, and post-intervention outcome measures will be collected in May.