# Tweet4Wellness: Development and RCT of Mobile Social Support Groups for Sedentary Behavior Reduction

> **NIH NIH K01** · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $164,553

## Abstract

7. Project Summary / Abstract
This K01 Career Development Award will provide Dr. Marily Oppezzo with intensive, supervised training to
establish an independent research scientist career focusing on cardiovascular disease prevention, more
specifically on how to change people’s physical activity levels for heart health. This proposal builds on Dr.
Oppezzo’s background as an experimentalist trained in psychological theories of learning and behavior
change, and leverages the exceptional environment of Stanford University for advanced training. Under the
mentorship of her team of experts, Dr. Oppezzo will advance the field of behavior change with a novel
intervention to decrease sedentary behavior, and contribute to the findings of sedentary behavior’s effects on
cardiovascular health. Prolonged sitting is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The health
effects of too much sitting are physiologically distinct from those of too little aerobic exercise. There is growing
evidence that heart disease risk from prolonged sedentary behavior can be mitigated by breaking up sitting
hours and moving more frequently throughout the day. This K01 proposal utilizes technology to both: 1.
decrease sedentary behavior and 2. track cardiovascular effects of sedentary behavior. 1. Through a
randomized controlled trial, Dr. Oppezzo will test the effectiveness of a multicomponent social media-based
intervention (Tweet4Wellness) on decreasing prolonged sedentary behavior by increasing walking bouts
throughout the day. Within a private social media group, for 100 days, participants will be prompted with daily,
theory-based behavior change strategies to elicit social support and interaction around their sedentary
behavior goals. 2. Using collected data from non-invasive, wrist-worn wireless biosensors, real-world patterns
of sedentary behavior will be associated with patterns of blood pressure and heart rate variability. This data will
not only contribute to what is known about cardiovascular biomarkers and sedentary behavior, but also detect
cardiovascular effects of changing sedentary behavior over time. Training to conduct the proposed K01 will
address prior gaps in Dr. Oppezzo’s knowledge and skills needed to achieve her long term goal of being an
independent scientist: 1) clinical trial implementation and biosensor “big data” processing and analysis (e.g.
accelerometer, blood pressure, and heart rate variability monitoring data); 2) social media and health
technology for behavioral interventions; 3) career development skills such as grantsmanship and manuscript
publications. Through coursework, hands-on experience, and mentored training, Dr. Oppezzo will gain a
conceptual and technical foundation to develop and test effective behavioral interventions for heart health.
Results from the proposed project will directly inform an R01 application that will build on the successful
features of the Tweet4Wellness intervention, refine less successful features, a...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9936062
- **Project number:** 5K01HL136702-03
- **Recipient organization:** STANFORD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Marily Oppezzo
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $164,553
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-06-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9936062

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9936062, Tweet4Wellness: Development and RCT of Mobile Social Support Groups for Sedentary Behavior Reduction (5K01HL136702-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9936062. Licensed CC0.

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