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Completed

NCT Number: NCT06902727

Effects of Virtual Reality Exercise on Promoting Physical Activity and Health Among College Students

The purpose of this research is to examine the effectiveness of a 4-week immersive-virtual reality (VR) exercise bike intervention on college students' physiological outcomes (physical activity levels, cardiovascular fitness, and body composition) and psychological outcomes (situational motivation, situational interest, mood states, and depressive symptoms).

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Key information

Conditions

Physical Activity Levels Behavior Behavioral Symptoms Body Composition Cardiovascular Fitness Depression Depressive Symptoms Mood States Motor Activity Situational Interest Situational Motivation

Age range

18 year–35 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55455, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • College students age from 18 to 35 years old who are currently enrolled in the university
  • College students without diagnosed physical and/or mental disabilities
  • Must be willing to provide informed consent and compete the PA Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q)
  • Must be willing to be randomized into an intervention or control group
  • no self-reported motion sickness symptoms during immersive VR-based exercise

Exclusion criteria

  • Students under the age of 18 or over the age of 35 years old or not currently enrolled in the university
  • Having self-reported physical and/or mental disabilities
  • Contradictions to PA participation as determined by PAR-Q responses
  • having motion sickness reaction when exercising under VR-based condition.

Treatment and study plan

VR-based exercise bike

Device

For the intervention group, participations exercised on an immersive VR-based exercise bike for one hour, twice per week, for 4 weeks. Participants in the control group were asked to maintain their usual routine after the baseline test for 4 weeks. Participants were scheduled separately coming to lab for the post-test after 4 weeks and all participants received the identical assessments in aforementioned physiological and psychological outcomes.

Usual routine

Other

Participants were asked to maintain their usual activities, without engaging in any other physical activity intervention during the 4-week study period.

Primary outcomes

  1. Exercise Motivation

    Time frame: Baseline, and 4 weeks

    Participants' motivation were assessed by the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnire-2 (BREQ-2). The BREQ-2 has 19 items assessing the continuum of behavioral regulation in exercise, which included amotivation, external regulation, introjected regulation, identified regulation, and intrinsic regulation.

  2. Mood States

    Time frame: Baseline, and 4 weeks

    Participants' mood states were measured by the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS). The BRUMS assesses mood across six subscales (anger, confusion, depression, fatigue, tension, and vigor) using a 24-item questionnaire with responses ranging from 0 (not at all) to 4 (extremely).

  3. Depressive Symptoms

    Time frame: Baseline, and 4 weeks

    The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used to assess participant's depressive symptoms. This is a 21-item, self-report rating inventory that measures characteristic attitudes and symptoms of depression. The total score was calculated to the evaluate the severity of depressive symptoms.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Cardiovascular fitness levels

    Time frame: Baseline, and 4 weeks

    Investigators asked participants to step on and off of a 12-inch plyometric box for 3 minutes to the "beep" of a metronome set to 96 beats-per-minute, with each beep corresponding with one leg movement. Immediately following the completion of the test, the principal investigator measured participants' heart rate for 60 seconds via palpation of the radial artery on the underbelly of the left wrist.

  2. Physical activity levels

    Time frame: Baseline, and 4 weeks

    Physical activity levels were assessed via International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). The IPAQ assesses three specific types of activity: walking, moderate-intensity activities, and vigorous-intensity activities. It asks participants to recall the time (in minutes) spent on each of these activities in the past 7 days.

    Each participant were assigned an accelerometer to wear during each 60-minute exercise session. Prior to the start of the intervention, participants were asked to wear an accelerometer for one week for measuring their physical activity levels. In addition, the investigators asked participants to wear the accelerometer for another week at the completion of 4-week intervention.

  3. Body Mass Index

    Time frame: Baseline, and 4 weeks

    Participant height (cm) and weight (kg) were measured using a stadiometer and a Tanita BC-558 IRONMAN Segmental Body Composition Monitor, respectively, in theUniversity of Minnesota's Physical Activity Epidemiology Laboratory. Both height and weight were used to calculate BMI in kg/m². BMI was classified according to the following indicators: Underweight: BMI < 18.5; Normal weight: BMI 18.5-24.9; Overweight: BMI 25-29.9; Obesity: BMI ≥ 30.

  4. Percent of body fat

    Time frame: Baseline, and 4 weeks

    Percent of body fat (%BF) were measured by Tanita BC-558 IRONMAN Segmental Body Composition Monitor.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Other

Collaborators

  • University of Minnesota

Registry information

Official study title

Effects of Virtual Reality Exercise on Promoting Physical Activity and Health Among College Students: A 4-week Randomized Controlled Trial

Important dates

Study start
2020
Primary completion
2020
Study completion
2021
First posted
Mar 30, 2025
Registry last updated
Mar 30, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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