CClinicalTrials.gg
Sign In
CompletedNCT02853760Updated May 18, 2022Results posted

Affective Responses in Mountain Hiking

An interventional study of walking and Treadmill in Affect, sponsored by Universitaet Innsbruck. Completed. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 70 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2022-05-18.

Sponsored by Universitaet Innsbruck · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
47
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 70 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Using a within-subject design, 42 healthy participants were randomly exposed to three different conditions: outdoor mountain hiking, indoor treadmill walking, and sedentary control situation (3.5 hours each). Measures included the Feeling Scale, Felt Arousal Scale and a Mood Survey Scale. Univariate ANOVAs were used to analyse differences between the conditions.

02

Conditions studied

  • Affect
03

In context

Lead sponsor

Universitaet Innsbruck is the lead sponsor of 12 studies on the registry; 1 is open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 70 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  • voluntary participation

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • pregnancy
  • breast-feeding
  • chronic or acute diseases (already existing or diagnosed during the study)
  • age below 18 and above 70 years
  • unable to be physically active assessed by the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (Shephard, Thomas, \& Weller, 1991)
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Crossover assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
47 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Outdoor mountain hiking (M)

    First part of the intervention: an uphill walking phase on single trails and forest roads in a sparse forest with view on the mountainous region around Innsbruck for 6 km in around 1.5 hours together with the test leader. Regarding the walking intensity, the participants were instructed to choose a "brisk without overspending" pace (average speed: 4 km/h). In the second part of the intervention, the participants were walking downhill on the same track for around 70 minutes back to the starting point to respond to the post-test (average speed: 5.2 km/h).

    Behavioral: walking

  • Active comparator
    Indoor treadmill walking (T)

    To ensure that all physical parameters were simultaneous to the outdoor mountain hiking condition, the distance, the difference in height, the average inclination of the track, and the time needed for the outdoor mountain hiking situation were measured in a pilot study. First part: uphill walking, inclination: 10%, time: 1.5 hours, and speed: 4 km/h (resulting in 600 m difference in height). In accordance to possible differences in outdoor speed, the participants were allowed to change the treadmill's speed in a small range (3.8 to 4.2 km/h) to adapt to the wording "brisk without overspending". Second part of the intervention contained 70 minutes of level walking on the same treadmills (5.2 km/h, 6km).

    Behavioral: walking · Device: Treadmill

  • No intervention
    Sedentary control condition (C)

    The sedentary control situation was located in a quiet room at the university with access to computers. The participants were allowed to use the computers, to read, and to talk, but had to remain in a sedentary position. To control for possible differences in affective response due to the daytime, the sedentary control condition contained the same timing of the measurements than the intervention condition. Sociodemographic data were collected for 5 to 10 minutes in this condition using a web-based questionnaire.

Interventions

  • Behavioralwalking
  • DeviceTreadmill
06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change From Baseline Subscales of Mood Survey Scale at 3 Hours

    Mood Survey Scale, min: 5, max: 25 higher score: better outcome All Outcome Measures are reported "per intervention", i.e., the data in Arms/Groups reflect the participants of the particular intervention.

    Time frame: baseline and 3 hours

  2. Change From Baseline Feeling Scale at 3 Hours

    Feeling Scale, min: -5, max: +5 higher score: better outcome All Outcome Measures are reported "per intervention", i.e., the data in Arms/Groups reflect the participants of the particular intervention.

    Time frame: baseline and 3 hours after baseline

  3. Change From Baseline Felt Arousal Scale at 3 Hours

    Felt Arousal Scale, min: 0, max: 6 higher score: better outcome All Outcome Measures are reported "per intervention", i.e., the data in Arms/Groups reflect the participants of the particular intervention.

    Time frame: baseline and 3 hours after baseline

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change From Baseline Blood Pressure at 3 Hours

    All Outcome Measures are reported "per intervention", i.e., the data in Arms/Groups reflect the participants of the particular intervention.

    Time frame: baseline and 3 hours

  2. Change From Baseline Heart Rate Variability at 3 Hours

    All Outcome Measures are reported "per intervention", i.e., the data in Arms/Groups reflect the participants of the particular intervention.

    Time frame: baseline and 3 hours

  3. Change From Baseline Cortisol at 3 Hours (Saliva Sampling)

    All Outcome Measures are reported "per intervention", i.e., the data in Arms/Groups reflect the participants of the particular intervention.

    Time frame: baseline and 3 hours

07

Results

Posted Jan 25, 2021
Limitations and caveats
* not feasible to apply downhill walking in the indoor situation, which resulted in a slightly different form of physical activity during the second part of the intervention * affective responses might be influenced by at least two confounding variables: the level of social interaction and the intensity of PA. * we did not include a follow-up measurement * we are aware about a possible selection bias in the present study * the length of the washout phase was not the same in all subjects

Participant flow

First Intervention (3 Hours)
Participant flow — First Intervention (3 Hours)
MilestoneSequence Group MTCSequence Group MCTSequence Group TMCSequence Group TCMSequence Group CTMSequence Group CMT
Started7107887
Completed7107887
Not completed000000
Washout (1 Week)
Participant flow — Washout (1 Week)
MilestoneSequence Group MTCSequence Group MCTSequence Group TMCSequence Group TCMSequence Group CTMSequence Group CMT
Started7107887
Completed7106685
Not completed001202
Withdrew: Acute illness (not connected with the study)001202
Second Intervention (3 Hours)
Participant flow — Second Intervention (3 Hours)
MilestoneSequence Group MTCSequence Group MCTSequence Group TMCSequence Group TCMSequence Group CTMSequence Group CMT
Started7106685
Completed7106685
Not completed000000
Washout (1 Week)
Participant flow — Washout (1 Week)
MilestoneSequence Group MTCSequence Group MCTSequence Group TMCSequence Group TCMSequence Group CTMSequence Group CMT
Started7106685
Completed7106685
Not completed000000
Third Intervention (3 Hours)
Participant flow — Third Intervention (3 Hours)
MilestoneSequence Group MTCSequence Group MCTSequence Group TMCSequence Group TCMSequence Group CTMSequence Group CMT
Started7106685
Completed7106685
Not completed000000

Outcome measures

PrimaryChange From Baseline Subscales of Mood Survey Scale at 3 Hours

Mood Survey Scale, min: 5, max: 25 higher score: better outcome All Outcome Measures are reported "per intervention", i.e., the data in Arms/Groups reflect the participants of the particular intervention.

Time frame:
baseline and 3 hours
Reported as:
Mean · score on a scale
Change From Baseline Subscales of Mood Survey Scale at 3 Hours
score on a scaleOutdoor Mountain Hiking (M)Indoor Treadmill Walking (T)Sedentary Control Condition (C)
Change From Baseline Subscales of Mood Survey Scale at 3 Hours0.54 ± 3.73-1.27 ± 3.79-2.22 ± 3.84
PrimaryChange From Baseline Feeling Scale at 3 Hours

Feeling Scale, min: -5, max: +5 higher score: better outcome All Outcome Measures are reported "per intervention", i.e., the data in Arms/Groups reflect the participants of the particular intervention.

Time frame:
baseline and 3 hours after baseline
Reported as:
Mean · units on a scale
Change From Baseline Feeling Scale at 3 Hours
units on a scaleOutdoor Mountain Hiking (M)Indoor Treadmill Walking (T)Sedentary Control Condition (C)
Change From Baseline Feeling Scale at 3 Hours1.37 ± 1.660.36 ± 2.07-0.81 ± 1.77
PrimaryChange From Baseline Felt Arousal Scale at 3 Hours

Felt Arousal Scale, min: 0, max: 6 higher score: better outcome All Outcome Measures are reported "per intervention", i.e., the data in Arms/Groups reflect the participants of the particular intervention.

Time frame:
baseline and 3 hours after baseline
Reported as:
Mean · units on a scale
Change From Baseline Felt Arousal Scale at 3 Hours
units on a scaleOutdoor Mountain Hiking (M)Indoor Treadmill Walking (T)Sedentary Control Condition (C)
Change From Baseline Felt Arousal Scale at 3 Hours0.15 ± 1.45-0.19 ± 1.50-0.57 ± 1.06
SecondaryChange From Baseline Blood Pressure at 3 Hours

All Outcome Measures are reported "per intervention", i.e., the data in Arms/Groups reflect the participants of the particular intervention.

Time frame:
baseline and 3 hours
Reported as:
Mean · mmHg
Change From Baseline Blood Pressure at 3 Hours
mmHgOutdoor Mountain Hiking (M)Indoor Treadmill Walking (T)Sedentary Control Condition (C)
Change From Baseline Blood Pressure at 3 Hours-6.08 ± 10.16-4.53 ± 8.32-1.83 ± 9.81
SecondaryChange From Baseline Heart Rate Variability at 3 Hours

All Outcome Measures are reported "per intervention", i.e., the data in Arms/Groups reflect the participants of the particular intervention.

Time frame:
baseline and 3 hours
Reported as:
Mean · ms
Change From Baseline Heart Rate Variability at 3 Hours
msOutdoor Mountain Hiking (M)Indoor Treadmill Walking (T)Sedentary Control Condition (C)
Change From Baseline Heart Rate Variability at 3 Hours10.16 ± 46.435.75 ± 31.1415.06 ± 21.45
SecondaryChange From Baseline Cortisol at 3 Hours (Saliva Sampling)

All Outcome Measures are reported "per intervention", i.e., the data in Arms/Groups reflect the participants of the particular intervention.

Time frame:
baseline and 3 hours
Reported as:
Mean · nmol/l
Change From Baseline Cortisol at 3 Hours (Saliva Sampling)
nmol/lOutdoor Mountain Hiking (M)Indoor Treadmill Walking (T)Sedentary Control Condition (C)
Change From Baseline Cortisol at 3 Hours (Saliva Sampling)-2.98 ± 3.49-3.12 ± 3.41-2.00 ± 2.85

Adverse events

Collected over During the 3 interventions and the measurements, approximately 3.5 hours each. During the 2 washout phases, approximately 1 week each, by self-report of the participants.. Non-serious events are listed at a 0% frequency threshold.

Adverse event summary by group
GroupDeathsSeriousOther
Outdoor Mountain Hiking (M)0/42 (0%)0/42 (0%)0/42 (0%)
Indoor Treadmill Walking (T)0/42 (0%)0/42 (0%)0/42 (0%)
Sedentary Control Condition (C)0/42 (0%)0/42 (0%)0/42 (0%)

Baseline characteristics

As the project was a randomized crossover study, all participants were exposed to all three conditions. The baseline data of all participants were combined in one Arm/Group ("All Study Participants").

Age, Continuous
Age, Continuous(years)All Study Participants
Mean32 ± 12
Sex: Female, Male
Sex: Female, Male(Participants)All Study Participants
Female20
Male22
Region of Enrollment
Region of Enrollment(Participants)All Study Participants
Austria42
08

Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

09

References and documents

Publications

  • Niedermeier M, Einwanger J, Hartl A, Kopp M. Affective responses in mountain hiking-A randomized crossover trial focusing on differences between indoor and outdoor activity. PLoS One. 2017 May 16;12(5):e0177719. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0177719. eCollection 2017. PubMed 28520774 ↗
  • Niedermeier M, Grafetstatter C, Hartl A, Kopp M. A Randomized Crossover Trial on Acute Stress-Related Physiological Responses to Mountain Hiking. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017 Aug 11;14(8):905. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14080905. PubMed 28800067 ↗
10

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 18, 2022, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
11

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT02853760
Lead sponsor
Universitaet Innsbruck
Collaborators
Paracelsus Medical University
Responsible party
Martin Burtscher (Prof, Universitaet Innsbruck) — Principal investigator
First posted
Aug 3, 2016
Start date
May 2015
Primary completion
Oct 2015
Completion
Oct 2015
Results posted
Jan 25, 2021
Last update
May 18, 2022

Study contacts

Martin Kopp, Prof.
study director · martin.kopp@uibk.ac.at

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in May 2022. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Other studies from this sponsor

Universitaet Innsbruck

Start the discussion