title: The effect of a wearable device prompting high school students aged 17-18 years to break up periods of prolonged sitting in class.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Increasingly, evidence shows that prolonged sedentary behavior factors into the health equation on its own, unrelated to weight and periods of intense exercise. In schools, students are required to sit for long periods of time.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether reminders (via a wearable device) to change posture, can change students' behavior and impact their subjective wellbeing.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten students of ages 17 to 18 years at a public high school in Bellevue, Washington, USA.
  
  
  METHODS
  To monitor students' behaviors, specially designed wearable devices recorded periods of sitting, standing and moving of participants throughout the school day for one week. During the second week of the study session, reminders were given via the devices providing vibration feedback after 20 minutes of uninterrupted sitting. Subjective wellbeing was evaluated through a daily questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The reminders given by the devices were effective in changing students' behavior. Students took significantly more breaks from sitting during the week with reminders. However, changes in subjective well-being were inconclusive.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The reminders were effective in changing students' behavior, demonstrating that behavior can be changed through individual feedback. Further study is required to explore benefits of such breaks on students' subjective wellbeing, but other studies suggest that such breaks improve their physical health.
authors.affiliation: International School Bellevue, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Hanna A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.affiliation: T-Mobile USA, Inc., Bellevue, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Hugh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: McLoone
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D003625:Data Collection / Q000295:instrumentation; D004867:Equipment Design / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology; D012574:Schools / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000639:trends; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Measuring posture; individual feedback; recording sitting time; reducing sedentary behavior