The health effects of mobile phone use while walking

INTERVENTION: Participants will be randomized to either the mobile phone or control condition. All will be asked to do a walking route around Auckland Domain for approximately 12 minutes. The walking route is on grass over park‐like grounds. Those randomized to the mobile phone condition will be asked to read information about the Auckland Domain on a mobile phone while they are walking. All participants will receive verbal and visual instructions about the route for the walking task and will be fitted with the wrist worn fitness and heart rate monitor (Garmin vivosmart HR) to record heart rate, step count and walking speed. During the walking task a stationary digital video recorder will video each participant on the same stretch of the walking loop. These behavioural data will later be analysed for information on adherence to the assigned condition, posture and gaze behaviour. CONDITION: Mood PRIMARY OUTCOME: Overall mood, assessed with a visual analogue scale (VAS) SECONDARY OUTCOME: Affect, measured with The Affect Valuation Index (AVI) Current negative mood, assessed with a visual analogue scale Current positive mood, assessed with a visual analogue scale Feelings of power, assessed by four items adapted from Cuddy, Wilmuth, and Carney (2012). Participants rate how "dominant", "in control", "powerful" and "confident" they feel on a scale ranging from "not at all" to "extremely" Posture assessed using computer software analysis of body angles from still frames taken from video of the participant walking. We are interested in head angle, eye angle, and the size of arm swing. State connectedness with nature, measured with the Inclusion of Nature in Self Scale (Schultz, 2002), an adaption from the Inclusion of Self in Other Scale (Aron, Aron, & Smollan, 1992). Participants rate their momentary connectedness with nature on a single‐item pictorial measure. Stride‐length. We will know the number of steps taken from the Garmin Vivosmart HR and the distance walked is the same for everyone since they walk the same route Distance walked/number of steps = stride length Trait contentedness with nature, measured with the Inclusion of Nature in Self Scale (Schultz, 2002), an adaption from the Inclusion of Self in Other Scale (Aron, Aron, & Smollan, 1992). Participants rate their general connectedness with nature on a single‐item pictorial measure. Seven different response options show two circles (self and nature) with different amounts of overlap, representing different levels of connectedness. blood pressure using sphygmomanometer heart rate measured on the Garmin vivosmart HR walking time INCLUSION CRITERIA: Able to understand and read English