StepUp: Virtual Coach
Research Objectives
StepUp is a randomized controlled trial which measured the effect of personalized feedback and motivational coaching, via the Virtual Coach computer avatar, on adherence to an activity regime. The research also assessed whether subjects formed a social bond and effective relationship with the Virtual Coach.
Drivers
As we increasingly read and hear in the news, over two-thirds of Americans are currently overweight or obese. Management of obesity is complex and requires a combination of behavioral, medical and potentially surgical therapy, in combination with psychological support. Poor adherence to recommended levels of exercise is a major barrier to patients successfully losing weight.
Research suggests that the best approach to effect the long-term changes in activity and diet required for sustained weight loss would include motivational coaching, sustained personalized feedback and patient education. To deliver all these elements through traditional methods, however, requires a level of manpower and interpersonal interaction that is costly and thus not accessible to many who require it. Although strategies using the Internet to promote adherence have shown some success, their impact is limited by the absence of a therapeutic relationship.
Program Overview
An automated Virtual Coach was developed to deliver personalized feedback, based on physiological data gathered by the activity monitor, to promote adherence to an exercise regime. This system creates a link between two pieces of currently available technology – an animated computer avatar developed by Tim Bickmore at Northeastern University, and a wearable activity monitor by FitSense/FitLinxx.
Seventy subjects were enrolled in the study and participated for a 12 week period. Half of the study participants receive a wearable activity monitor to track their daily activity and access to a website to view their activity data. The other half receive the activity monitor, access to the website and the Virtual Coach computer software. Based on average step count, the control group walked about a half mile less by the end of the study. In contrast, the intervention subjects remained steady over the course of the 12 weeks.
Participant feedback:
"Did work as a motivator. I did not want to disappoint her."
"It raised my awareness about exercising and forced me to think if I had exercised or not and why. Also I lost weight."
"She gave some helpful tips on exercising."