Abstract
E-coaching applications can improve people’s lifestyles; however, their impact on people from a lower socioeconomic status (low SES) is unknown. This study investigated the effectiveness of a lifestyle e-coaching application in encouraging people facing low SES disadvantages to engage in a more active lifestyle over a course of 19 weeks. In this bicountry study, 95 people with low activity level (GR: 50, NL: 45) used a mobile application linked to a wearable activity tracker. At the start and after 6 and 19 weeks, self-reported physical activity levels, attitudes, and intention towards increasing activity levels, perceived behavioral control, and wellbeing were measured. Results indicated that participants using the lifestyle e-coaching application reported significantly more often an increase in activity levels than a parallel control group. Additionally, the people using the application also more often reported increased levels of wellbeing and perceived behavioral control. Therefore, lifestyle e-coaching applications could be a cost-effective solution for promoting healthier lifestyles in low-SES populations.
Highlights
Worldwide, 1 in 4 adults does not meet the physical activity recommendations set by the WHO [1]
Our primary outcome measure was the likelihood of improving the physical activity level as measured by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) score in MET-minutes
We found that a lifestyle e-coaching application is capable of increasing physical activity levels of low-socioeconomic status (SES) users, and of maintaining these increased physical activity levels
Summary
1 in 4 adults does not meet the physical activity recommendations set by the WHO [1]. Lifestyle e-coaching applications are known to have the potential to be successful in changing people’s behaviors, including physical activity levels [2,3]. They guide people towards desired lifestyles through measurement of relevant parameters (e.g., activity level, food intake), and by means of personalized coaching messages. Their accompanying apps can function as mobile health applications, as, for example, physical activity is a prerequisite for good overall health. E-coaching applications, such as those used through a smartphone, have shown promising results in increasing physical activity among adults, senior citizens, children, and adolescents [2,4–7]. Improving physical activity levels can improve wellbeing, there is inconclusive evidence concerning e-coaching applications and their effect on wellbeing [12,13]
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