Abstract
Physical activity is closely linked with health and well-being; however, many Americans do not engage in regular exercise. Older adults and those with low socioeconomic status are especially at risk for poor health, largely due to their sedentary lifestyles. Fitness technology, including trackers and smartphone applications (apps), has become increasingly popular for measuring and encouraging physical activity in recent years. However, many questions remain regarding the effectiveness of this technology for promoting behavior change. Behavior change techniques such as goal setting, feedback, rewards, and social factors are often included in fitness technology. However, it is not clear which components are most effective and which are actually being used by consumers. We discuss additional strategies not typically included in fitness technology devices or apps that are promising for engaging inactive, vulnerable populations. These include action planning, restructuring negative attitudes, enhancing environmental conditions, and identifying other barriers to regular physical activity. We consider which strategies are most conducive to motivating behavior change among sedentary adults. Overall, fitness technology has the potential to significantly impact public health, research, and policies. We suggest ways in which app developers and behavior change experts can collaborate to develop successful apps. Advances are still needed to help inactive individuals determine how, when, where, and with whom they can increase their physical activity.
Highlights
The control group is likely still using the strategies included in the device such as goal setting and feedback, which makes it difficult to determine whether or not this is a true control group
One potential way to utilize technology in an environmental intervention comes from the MapMyFitness App3
Many behavior change strategies are included in fitness technology
Summary
A Review of the Evidence for Increasing Physical Activity. Front. A sedentary lifestyle is more prevalent among those with low socioeconomic status (SES) [4] Such vulnerable populations are at increased risk for health problems, and they face unique obstacles to meeting physical activity recommendations [6,7,8,9]. Special considerations should be made to address the key barriers in vulnerable, inactive populations such as older adults, especially those low on the SES gradient [10] These include environmental obstacles, such as not knowing where to exercise, time constraints, such as believing there is not enough time to exercise, and social limitations, such as not having support for exercise
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