Effectiveness of a multicomponent intervention to promote physical activity among Japanese remote workers: a pilot open-label randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: Remote work (ie, teleworking) may adversely affect physical activity (PA) among workers, but no strategies have been effectively implemented to address this issue. We aimed to test whether a multicomponent intervention program could promote the PA of remote workers.

Methods: This study was an 8-week pilot open-label randomized controlled trial. Fifty-one participants (19 women) aged 23-58 years were recruited via an information technology company in Tokyo, Japan, and randomly assigned to the control (n = 26) or intervention (n = 25) group. The intervention group was provided a multicomponent intervention that comprised individual (lecture, print material, goal setting, feedback, and posters), sociocultural (supportive atmosphere and team building), and organizational (encouraging message from an executive) strategies. The control group only received posters. The primary outcome was an 8-week change in objectively measured moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA). The secondary outcomes were changes in light PA, moderate PA, vigorous PA, steps, and sedentary time. We also conducted subdomain analyses divided into working and nonworking days.

Results: No significant difference was observed in MVPA changes between the 2 groups. However, the intervention group showed significant improvement in light PA by +14.0 min/d (95% CI, 1.7-26.2). Subdomain analyses also showed no significant differences in MVPA changes between the 2 groups. However, MVPA in the intervention group significantly increased by +9.4 min/d (95% CI, 2.5-16.2) on working days.

Conclusions: The present multicomponent intervention was feasible for remote workers, although some revisions are necessary to enhance the effect size.