Abstract

The growing popularity of physical activity (PA) applications (apps) in recent years and the vast amounts of data that they generate present attractive possibilities for surveillance. However, measurement accuracy is indispensable when tracking PA variables to provide meaningful measures of PA. The purpose of this study was to examine the steps and distance criterion validity of freeware accelerometer-based PA smartphone apps, during incremental-intensity treadmill walking and jogging. Thirty healthy adults (25.9 ± 5.7 years) participated in this cross-sectional study. They were fitted with two smartphones (one with Android and one with iOS operating systems), each one simultaneously running four different apps (i.e., Runtastic Pedometer, Accupedo, Pacer, and Argus). They walked and jogged for 5 min at each of the predefined speeds of 4.8, 6.0, and 8.4 km/h on a treadmill, and two researchers counted every step taken during trials with a digital tally counter. Validity was evaluated by comparing each app with the criterion measure using repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA), mean absolute percentage errors (MAPEs), and Bland–Altman plots. For step count, Android apps performed slightly more accurately that iOS apps; nevertheless, MAPEs were generally low for all apps (<5%) and accuracy increased at higher speeds. On the other hand, errors were significantly higher for distance estimation (>10%). The findings suggest that accelerometer-based apps are accurate tools for counting steps during treadmill walking and jogging and could be considered suitable for use as an outcome measure within a clinical trial. However, none of the examined apps was suitable for measuring distance.

Highlights

  • Validity was evaluated by comparing each app with the criterion measure using repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA), mean absolute percentage errors (MAPEs), and Bland–Altman plots

  • Android apps performed slightly more accurately that iOS apps; MAPEs were generally low for all apps (

  • The findings suggest that accelerometer-based apps are accurate tools for counting steps during treadmill walking and jogging and could be considered suitable for use as an outcome measure within a clinical trial

Read more

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. The World Health Organisation has recently updated the guidelines on physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour [1]. New guidelines for adults specify a target range of 150 to 300 min of moderate-intensity and 75 to 150 min of vigorous-intensity. PA, compared with the previous guidelines that focused on achieving at least 150 min of moderate-intensity or 75 min of vigorous-intensity activity per week [2]. Updated PA guidelines pose many challenges to PA surveillance; device-based measures may facilitate surveillance [3]

Objectives
Methods
Discussion
Conclusion
Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call