Tracking Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Adolescents using a Mobile Application

Abstract

During adolescence, sedentary time tends to increase while physical activity (PA) declines. Self-report measures of adolescents’ activities are often prone to recall bias and are limited by their inability to detect simultaneous activities. Real-time measurements (Experienced Sampling Method, ESM) may address these limitations by assessing activities when they take place. PURPOSE: To describe adolescents’ after-school behaviors through use of a mobile application using ESM. The secondary purpose was to examine the feasibility and acceptability for adolescents to track their after-school PA and sedentary behaviors. METHODS: Participants completed surveys on the behavior in which they were engaged at the time the survey was sent, using an app on their mobile device. The surveys occurred randomly, three times, from 3:30-9pm, for seven days. Participants also completed a 15-minute, telephone-based follow-up interview to assess ease and likeability of using the app on 5-pt scales (1=very easy, 5=very hard; 1=disliked a lot, 5=liked a lot). RESULTS: Thirty adolescents, 11-15 years old, submitted 560 surveys using the mobile device app (89% response rate). The adolescents most often reported engaging in “Other” activities (e.g., shopping, sitting) at 16.8% of total responses, followed by physical activity (14.3%). The least common activity was using their computer (1.6%). Two participants reported engaging in multiple activities at the same time (0.5%). Participants indicated the app was very easy to use (mean=1.5), and that they liked using the app (mean=3.9). On average, adolescents completed the survey in 0:08:06. However, from the time the survey was sent to the time they began the survey, it took the adolescents nearly 3 hours to begin. CONCLUSIONS: To be considered ESM, participants must answer surveys immediately after they are sent. Although the mobile app appears to be appealing and easy to use, adolescents did not always answer the surveys in a manner that qualifies as ESM. Mostly, this was due to participants’ lack of reliable access to their own mobile device. ESM may be an improvement over self-report recall surveys, but future investigators should note the limitations of using ESM with adolescents. Supported by the Michigan State University College of Education Summer Research Fellowship