Development of an Accelerometer-Linked Online Intervention System to Promote Physical Activity in Adolescents

Most adolescents do not achieve the recommended levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), placing them at increased risk for a diverse array of chronic diseases in adulthood. There is a great need for scalable and effective interventions that can increase MVPA in adolescents. Here we report the results of a measurement validation study and a preliminary proof-of-concept experiment testing the impact of Zamzee, an accelerometer-linked online intervention system that combines proximal performance feedback and incentive motivation features to promote MVPA. In a calibration study that parametrically varied levels of physical activity in 31 12-14 year-old children, the Zamzee activity meter was shown to provide a valid measure of MVPA (sensitivity in detecting MVPA = 85.9%, specificity = 97.5%, and r = .94 correspondence with the benchmark RT3 accelerometer system; all p