The Acceptability, Feasibility, and Effectiveness of Wearable Activity Trackers for Increasing Physical Activity in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review.

Amy V Creaser,Sally E Barber,Jennifer Hall,Nicola D Ridgers,Daniel D Bingham,Stacy A Clemes,Silvia Costa

doi:10.3390/ijerph18126211

Abstract

Wearable activity trackers (wearables) embed numerous behaviour change techniques (BCTs) that have previously been shown to increase adult physical activity (PA). With few children and adolescents achieving PA guidelines, it is crucial to explore ways to increase their PA. This systematic review examined the acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness of wearables and their potential mechanisms of action for increasing PA in 5 to 19-year-olds. A systematic search of six databases was conducted, including data from the start date of each database to December 2019 (PROSPERO registration: CRD42020164506). Thirty-three studies were included. Most studies (70%) included only adolescents (10 to 19 years). There was some—but largely mixed—evidence that wearables increase steps and moderate-to-vigorous-intensity PA and reduce sedentary behaviour. There were no apparent differences in effectiveness based on the number of BCTs used and between studies using a wearable alone or as part of a multi-component intervention. Qualitative findings suggested wearables increased motivation to be physically active via self-monitoring, goal setting, feedback, and competition. However, children and adolescents reported technical difficulties and a novelty effect when using wearables, which may impact wearables’ long-term use. More rigorous and long-term studies investigating the acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness of wearables in 5 to 19-year-olds are warranted.

Highlights

Physical activity (PA) provides physical, psychological, social, and cognitive health benefits throughout a person’s lifespan [1,2,3]
This review found that half of all effectiveness studies reported some evidence that wearables may increase PA outcomes and reduce sedentary time
In contrast to this review’s findings, a meta-analysis exploring the effectiveness of wearables on adult PA and sedentary behaviour [20] found multi-component interventions had a greater effect on PA than those using wearables alone [20], and there was no evidence that wearables reduced sedentary time in adults [20]

Summary

Introduction

Physical activity (PA) provides physical, psychological, social, and cognitive health benefits throughout a person’s lifespan [1,2,3]. Physical activity during childhood and adolescence is associated with current and future health outcomes such as reduced adiposity [4,5] and enhanced motor skill development [6]. PA can reduce depressive symptoms [7], and higher levels of PA are related to a greater quality of life [8] in children and adolescents. Despite these benefits, physical inactivity is common amongst children and adolescents. PA interventions in ≤16 year-olds have produced negligible-to-small increases in total PA and MVPA [10].

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