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NCT Number: NCT07593677

Motivating Activity Through Text Communications - Helping Adults Increase Movement

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the effect of different types of text messages on physical activity levels of middle-aged and older adults and to determine whether these messages are effective in adults age 40 and older who are engaging in less than 90 minutes per week of moderate or higher intensity physical activity. The main questions it aims to answer are:

* Which types of motivational messages show the greatest effects on changes in daily step counts in a 3-month precision text messaging intervention? * What are the effects of personalized text messages on automatic affective evaluations, habit strength (experienced automaticity), exercise identity, working memory capacity, and processing speed?

Participants will:

* Wear a Fitbit activity tracker continuously for 3 months and are encouraged to continue wearing it through 6 months. * Wear an activPAL activity monitor on their thigh for 7-day assessment periods at the beginning of the study, at 3 months, and at 6 months. * Complete 3 cognitive assessments ("brain games") per day on their smartphone during the 7-day assessment periods at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. * Be asked to set goals to increase their daily steps over the first 3 months of the study. * Receive up to 4 motivational text messages per day for 3 months to encourage physical activity. * Keep study-related apps (Fitbit app, AIM app, MetricWire app) open in the background on their smartphone. * Complete questionnaires at the beginning of the study, at 3 months, and at 6 months

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Key information

Conditions

Physical Inactivity Aging Behavior Behavior Change Cognitive Ability Motor Activity Sedentary Behavior

Age range

40 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Be 40 years of age or older
  • Own a smartphone running an Android or iOS operating system
  • Have proficiency with the English language
  • Be capable of providing informed consent
  • Be able to perform moderate physical activity without restrictions
  • Be willing to complete the entire 6-month protocol
  • Be willing to establish a 12-hour window - beginning no later than 9:45 am and ending no later than 9:45 pm - for receiving text messages.

Exclusion criteria

  • Residing outside of the continental United States
  • Self-reporting 90 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity per week
  • contraindications to normal physical activity as identified on the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q)
  • Mobility restrictions that interfere with unassisted physical activity
  • Being pregnant or planning to become pregnant during the study
  • Planning to undergo surgery during the course of the study protocol
  • Having a prior diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia
  • Evidence of mild cognitive impairment as indicated by a mini-Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test score of 12 or higher
  • Concurrent participation in another study involving weight loss or physical activity
  • Failure to respond to at least 85% of Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) prompts during the 7-day qualification phase.

Treatment and study plan

Text Messaging Intervention

Behavioral

Participants will receive up to 4 motivational text messages per day during a self-selected 12-hour window. These messages focus on two content areas: 1) Move more, and 2) sit less. Delivery of these messages occurs in two phases:

  • Random AIM (month 1): Messages are sent at random times within the participant's window to collect baseline data on their behavioral responses.
  • Precision AIM (months 2 and 3): Messages are sent at optimized times based on person-specific models that are created from the individual's previous responses to text messages from month 1.

Primary outcomes

  1. Daily Step Count

    Time frame: The activPAL is worn on the thigh for a 7-day assessment period before the intervention begins (baseline), after 3 months of intervention, and then again 3 months after the intervention is complete. The total time frame is 6 months.

    The primary outcome measure is the average daily step count, which is assessed using a blinded, research-grade activPAL activity monitor, worn on the thigh for a 7-day assessment period.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Mechanisms of Behavior Change for Adherence: Habit Strength

    Time frame: These secondary outcomes are collected at the same major time points as the primary outcome: baseline (month 0), post-intervention (month 3), and follow-up (month 6).

    Habit Strength will be assessed using the Behavioral Automaticity Index from the Self-Report Habit Index to measure how automatic the exercise behavior has become. Scores are calculated as the average item responses and range from 1 to 7 with higher scores reflecting greater experienced automaticity (i.e., stronger habits).

  2. Mechanisms of Behavior Change for Adherence: Exercise Identity (Reflective)

    Time frame: These secondary outcomes are collected at the same major time points as the primary outcome: baseline (month 0), post-intervention (month 3), and follow-up (month 6).

    Exercise Identity will be assessed using the Exercise Identity Scale to see how much participants view themselves as "exercisers". Scores are based on the average item response and range from 1 to 7 with higher scores representing a stronger exercise identity.

  3. Mechanisms of Behavior Change for Adherence: Automatic Affective Evaluations

    Time frame: These secondary outcomes are collected at the same major time points as the primary outcome: baseline (month 0), post-intervention (month 3), and follow-up (month 6).

    Automatic Affective Evaluations will be assessed using a Single-Category Implicit Association Test (SCIAT) to assess non-conscious attitudes toward physical activity. Scores are standardized mean differences of response times between blocks of trials where physical activity is paired with unpleasant attributes and blocks of trials where physical activity is paired with pleasant attributes. Higher scores indicate more favorable automatic affective evaluations of physical activity.

  4. Ambulatory Cognitive Function: Processing Speed

    Time frame: These secondary outcomes are collected at the same major time points as the primary outcome: Baseline (month 0), post-intervention (month 3), and follow-up (6 month).

    Processing Speed will be assessed with the Mobile Monitoring of Cognitive Change (M2C2) Symbol Search Task. Scores are based on response times for accurate trials so there is no fixed range for scores. Shorter response times indicate faster (better) processing speed; longer response times indicate slower (worse) processing speed.

  5. Ambulatory Cognitive Function: Working Memory Capacity

    Time frame: These secondary outcomes are collected at the same major time points as the primary outcome: Baseline (month 0), post-intervention (month 3), and follow-up (6 month).

    Working Memory Capacity will be measured using the M2C2 Grid Memory Task. Scores are based on response accuracy measured as a Euclidean distance score. Shorter distance scores indicate more working memory capacity; longer distance scores indicate less working memory capacity.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Ann M Mehringer

CONTACT

[email protected]

734-647-6050

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Michigan

Other

Collaborators

  • National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Registry information

Official study title

Motivating Activity Through Text - Comparing Human and AI Messages (MATCH AIM) Trial

Acronym: MATCH AIM

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2027
First posted
May 18, 2026
Registry last updated
May 22, 2026

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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