Personalized Approach for Promoting Physical Activity in Mayo Clinic Physicians

Physicians in the experimental group will be given an accelerometer for 2 weeks (without feedback) prior to starting the study and will continue to have their activity monitored for the duration of the study. The accelerometer monitors movement and accurately estimates physical activity energy expenditure. They will receive feedback about their activity for the remainder of the trial. Physicians in the control group will wear the accelerometer but not receive feedback for the first 14 weeks of the trial. They will receive feedback for the last 12 weeks of the trial as they crossover to the experimental group.

The physicians in the experimental group will be provided with a walking workstation. The walking workstation has a computer keyboard, computer monitor and telephone attached to an exercise treadmill (assembled by the investigators). This allows the user to walk at 1 mile per hour while dictating, typing, responding to e-mail, etc. The treadmill can be placed in an examining room if the physician wishes to use it while dictating notes or it can be placed in a separate office. For the last 12 weeks of the study the experimental group will not use the walking workstation while the control grop will use the workstation (crossover).

After the first two weeks of baseline data collection, the experimental group will receive exercise counseling for the next 12 weeks. They will be advised to make use of the accelerometer and the walking workstation as well as how to increase their activity in other ways. This group will not receive exercise counseling for the last 12 weeks of the study while the control group will cross over and receive exercise counseling for the last 12 weeks of the study (the control group will not receive exercise counseling for the first 14 weeks of the study).