An interventional study of Website in Healthy Young Adults, Body Image and Psychological Well-being, sponsored by Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. Not yet recruiting. Open to male participants aged 15 Years to 18 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-27.
Sponsored by Norwegian School of Sport Sciences · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether a digital intervention can improve body image and psychological well-being among adolescent boys who attend fitness clubs. Fitness club environments and social media often promote appearance ideals related to muscularity and leanness, which may contribute to body appearance pressure, body dissatisfaction, and psychological distress among boys.
In this cluster-randomized controlled trial, approximately 260 boys aged 15 to 18 years will be recruited from fitness clubs in Oslo, Norway. Participants from fitness clubs assigned to the intervention group will receive access to a 12-week website-based program consisting of four interactive modules focusing on body image, psychological well-being, critical social media literacy, and attitudes toward food and sports supplements. Participants in the control group will continue their usual activities.
The study will examine whether the intervention reduces internalization of appearance ideals and body appearance pressure and improves body appreciation, health-related quality of life, psychological well-being, social media-related behaviors, and attitudes toward food and sports supplements. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and at a 6-month follow-up.
The prevalence of body image concerns among adolescent boys has increased in recent years, accompanied by growing internalization of appearance ideals emphasizing muscularity, leanness, and physical performance. Fitness clubs represent an important social and exercise arena for adolescent boys and may contribute both positively and negatively to psychological well-being. While regular physical activity is associated with health benefits, fitness club environments often expose young males to appearance-focused norms, body comparisons, and social influences reinforced through social media and commercial fitness culture. These factors may increase body appearance pressure, body dissatisfaction, unhealthy attitudes toward food and supplements, and vulnerability to psychological distress. Despite the increasing participation of adolescent boys in fitness clubs, few evidence-based interventions have been developed for this population.
The Strong Minds study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a digital intervention designed to promote positive body image and psychological well-being among adolescent male fitness club members. The intervention targets body image-related constructs, social media literacy, psychological well-being, and attitudes related to food and sports supplements. The study further seeks to examine mechanisms through which the intervention may influence outcomes, including body appreciation and social media-related processes.
The study will be conducted as a cluster-randomized controlled trial involving fitness clubs in Oslo, Norway. Fitness clubs will serve as the unit of randomization and will be allocated to either an intervention condition or a usual-routine control condition. Approximately 260 participants will be recruited. Data collection will occur at baseline, immediately following the intervention period, and six months after completion of the intervention.
Participants assigned to the intervention group will receive access to a website-based program delivered over 12 weeks. The intervention consists of four modules released at three-week intervals. To maximize engagement and feasibility, the intervention has been designed as a brief and interactive digital experience requiring approximately 75 minutes of total participation. Participants in the control group will continue their usual activities and will receive access to the intervention after study completion.
The intervention content has been developed using evidence-based approaches from body image prevention research, social media literacy interventions, positive psychology, embodiment theory, and sociocultural models of body image development. The website uses an interactive narrative format centered on realistic situations encountered by adolescent boys in fitness club settings. Through short episodes, quizzes, reflection exercises, and individualized feedback, participants are encouraged to critically evaluate appearance ideals, social media messages, body-related pressures, and health information encountered in everyday life. The intervention addresses four core themes: body image, psychological well-being, critical social media literacy, and attitudes toward food and sports supplements.
To enhance relevance, usability, and participant engagement, the intervention will be co-created with a Collaborative Competence Group consisting of young males with lived experience of body image concerns and/or disordered eating related to gym participation. User involvement will contribute to the development of content, design, language, functionality, and overall user experience.
Data will be collected through online questionnaires assessing body image-related constructs, body appreciation, health-related quality of life, psychological distress, social media use and appearance comparison, food-related attitudes, attitudes toward sports supplements, exercise habits, and demographic characteristics. Intervention adherence will be monitored through website analytics, including module completion and login frequency.
The study is funded by the Dam Foundation through ROS (Counselling and Support for Eating Disorders). Ethical approval procedures have been completed in accordance with Norwegian regulations, and all participants will provide informed consent before participation. The findings from the Strong Minds study will contribute to knowledge regarding scalable and accessible strategies for promoting positive body image and psychological well-being among adolescent boys in fitness club environments.
2,193 studies on the registry are indexed under Psychological Well-Being; 728 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 260 is above the median of 110 across 1,796 interventional studies indexed under Psychological Well-Being.
Browse Psychological Well-Being studies →Norwegian School of Sport Sciences is the lead sponsor of 46 studies on the registry; 6 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants assigned to the intervention arm will receive access to a website, a 12-week digital intervention designed to promote positive body image and psychological well-being among adolescent male fitness club members. The intervention consists of four interactive modules released every three weeks and addresses body image, psychological well-being, critical social media literacy, and attitudes toward food and sports supplements. Modules include brief narrative-based content, quizzes, personalized feedback, and reflection exercises. Total engagement time is approximately 75 minutes across the 12-week intervention period.
Other: Website
Participants assigned to the control condition will continue their regular exercise and daily activities without receiving the Strong Minds intervention during the 12-week trial period. Outcome assessments will be conducted at the same time points as in the intervention group (baseline, post-intervention, and 6-month follow-up). Access to the digital intervention will be provided after completion of the randomized controlled trial.
Participants assigned to the intervention arm will receive access to the Strong Minds website, a 12-week digital intervention designed to promote positive body image and psychological well-being among adolescent male fitness club members. The intervention consists of four interactive modules released every three weeks and addresses body image, psychological well-being, critical social media literacy, and attitudes toward food and sports supplements. Modules include brief narrative-based content, quizzes, personalized feedback, and reflection exercises. Total engagement time is approximately 75 minutes across the 12-week intervention period.
Internalization
Internalization of appearance ideals (Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4 \[SATAQ-4\]). This outcome assesses the extent to which participants adopt societal appearance ideals related to muscularity, leanness, and low body fat as personal standards for evaluating their own appearance. Internalization is measured using the relevant SATAQ-4 subscales. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (definitely disagree) to 5 (definitely agree), with higher scores indicating greater internalization of societal appearance ideals. The outcome will be assessed at baseline, post-intervention (12 weeks), and 6-month follow-up.
Time frame: Baseline, post-intervention (12 weeks), and 6-month follow-up.
Body appearance pressure
Body appearance pressure measured using the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4 Revised (SATAQ-4R). Scores range from 1 to 5, with higher scores indicating greater perceived appearance-related pressure from media and sociocultural influences.
Time frame: Baseline, post-intervention (12 weeks), and 6-month follow-up.
Body appreciation
The extent to which participants respect, accept, and value their bodies and maintain a positive body image despite societal appearance pressures.
Time frame: Baseline, post-intervention (12 weeks), and 6-month follow-up.
Social Media use
Self-reported social media use, including platform(s) used, frequency of use per day, time spent on social media (hours/day), exposure to appearance-related content, appearance comparison, selfie posting, and motivations for use.
Time frame: Baseline, post-intervention (12 weeks), and 6-month follow-up.
General health-related quality of life.
Self-reported health-related quality of life measured using the KIDSCREEN-10 questionnaire. Higher scores indicate better quality of life and well-being.
Time frame: Baseline, post-intervention (12 weeks), and 6-month follow-up.
Psychological distress
Psychological distress assessed using the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-10 (HSCL-10). The HSCL-10 is a self-report measure of symptoms of anxiety and depression. The total score is calculated as the mean of the 10 items, with response options ranging from 1 (not at all) to 4 (extremely). Scores range from 1 to 4, with higher scores indicating greater psychological distress and a worse outcome.
Time frame: Baseline, post-intervention (12 weeks), and 6-month follow-up.
Food-related attitudes.
Food-related attitudes and behaviors assessed using the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26). The EAT-26 is a self-report measure of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors associated with eating-related concerns and disordered eating. The total score ranges from 0 to 78, with higher scores indicating more problematic eating attitudes and behaviors and a worse outcome. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, post-intervention (12 weeks), and 6-month follow-up.
Time frame: Baseline, post-intervention (12 weeks), and 6-month follow-up.
Attitudes towards sports supplements
Questions regarding anabolic steroids, testosterone preparations, growth hormone, ephedrine, and Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMS)) \[GU33.1\]based on Ungdata, an annual Norwegian data collection scheme.
Time frame: Baseline, post-intervention (12 weeks), and 6-month follow-up.
No study locations are listed for this record.
Plan to share: Yes — Individual participant data that have been de-identified, including demographic characteristics, outcome measures, and questionnaire data underlying the published results, will be made available to qualified researchers upon reasonable request following publication of the main study findings. Data sharing will be conducted in accordance with applicable ethical approvals, data protection regulations, and FAIR data principles.
Supporting information: Study protocol, Statistical analysis plan
Time frame: Beginning 6 months after publication of the primary study results with no predefined end date.
Access criteria: Access to de-identified individual participant data will be provided to qualified researchers upon reasonable request. Researchers must submit a methodologically sound research proposal and may be required to sign a data access agreement. Requests will be reviewed by the study investigators to ensure compliance with ethical approvals, applicable data protection regulations, and institutional policies. Data will be shared only for research purposes consistent with the objectives of the original study.
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Start is estimated for Jan 2028; primary completion for Sep 2028, 8 months later.
Of 1,259 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Psychological Well-Being, half reached primary completion within 17 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 7 and three quarters within 34. This study's planned 8 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 1,302 studies reached it within 16 months; a quarter within 7 and three quarters within 34.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Aug 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Norwegian School of Sport Sciences