Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Sep 11, 2025
Open Peer Review Period: Sep 16, 2025 - Nov 4, 2025
Date Accepted: Nov 13, 2025
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Effect of a Walking-Based Physical Activity Intervention on Health Indicators in University Students in Three Cities in Chile. Protocol For a Randomized Controlled Trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Regular participation in some type of physical activity brings improvements in health indicators such as cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength, and body composition. However, despite evidence indicating health benefits, one in four adults is physically inactive, a situation that also occurs in the university population. Walking is a physical activity modality that can be easily incorporated into daily activities, so performing a walking-based physical activity intervention could improve some health indicators.
Objective:
This protocol aims to analyze the impact of a walking-based physical activity intervention on health indicators in university students.
Methods:
An intervention group (n = 99) and a control group (n = 99) will be randomly selected. All participants will be assessed at the beginning and end of the intervention for indicators of health, cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength, and body composition. The intervention group will participate in a 14-week walking program with individualized daily goals, self-monitoring, personalized feedback, and weekly educational material, while the control group will only record their steps without receiving personalized goals or feedback.
Results:
The recruitment process will begin in March 2026. Initial assessments are scheduled to take place March 2-13, 2026. The intervention will be carried out from March 16, 2026, to May 22, 2026 (14 weeks). From May 25 to June 5, 2026, the final evaluations will be carried out. The final results of the study are expected to be published by October 2026.
Conclusions:
This protocol proposes a novel and feasible approach to overcome common barriers to physical activity in university students, with the potential for large-scale application in similar contexts. Clinical Trial: NCT06580769
Citation
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Copyright
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