Abstract
BackgroundCommercial activity trackers are growing in popularity among adults and some are beginning to be marketed to children. There is, however, a paucity of independent research examining the validity of these devices to detect physical activity of different intensity levels.ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to determine the validity of the output from 3 commercial youth-oriented activity trackers in 3 phases: (1) orbital shaker, (2) structured indoor activities, and (3) 4 days of free-living activity.MethodsFour units of each activity tracker (Movband [MB], Sqord [SQ], and Zamzee [ZZ]) were tested in an orbital shaker for 5-minutes at three frequencies (1.3, 1.9, and 2.5 Hz). Participants for Phase 2 (N=14) and Phase 3 (N=16) were 6-12 year old children (50% male). For Phase 2, participants completed 9 structured activities while wearing each tracker, the ActiGraph GT3X+ (AG) research accelerometer, and a portable indirect calorimetry system to assess energy expenditure (EE). For Phase 3, participants wore all 4 devices for 4 consecutive days. Correlation coefficients, linear models, and non-parametric statistics evaluated the criterion and construct validity of the activity tracker output.ResultsOutput from all devices was significantly associated with oscillation frequency (r=.92-.99). During Phase 2, MB and ZZ only differentiated sedentary from light intensity (P<.01), whereas the SQ significantly differentiated among all intensity categories (all comparisons P<.01), similar to AG and EE. During Phase 3, AG counts were significantly associated with activity tracker output (r=.76, .86, and .59 for the MB, SQ, and ZZ, respectively).ConclusionsAcross study phases, the SQ demonstrated stronger validity than the MB and ZZ. The validity of youth-oriented activity trackers may directly impact their effectiveness as behavior modification tools, demonstrating a need for more research on such devices.
Highlights
IntroductionThe 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that children and adolescents engage in at least 60 minutes of physical activity (PA) daily [1]
The validity of youth-oriented activity trackers may directly impact their effectiveness as behavior modification tools, demonstrating a need for more research on such devices. (J Med Internet Res 2017;19(7):e250) doi:10.2196/jmir
The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that children and adolescents engage in at least 60 minutes of physical activity (PA) daily [1]
Summary
The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that children and adolescents engage in at least 60 minutes of physical activity (PA) daily [1]. In the United States, the prevalence of 6-11 year old children meeting this guideline was 42% and drops to 8% for adolescents [2]. This level of PA for the nation’s youth was reported as a “D-” in the recent http://www.jmir.org/2017/7/e250/ XSLFO RenderX. Several studies have evaluated validity and reliability of adult activity trackers [4-10], but there is currently no independent research validating the output from youth-oriented activity trackers. Commercial activity trackers are growing in popularity among adults and some are beginning to be marketed to children. There is, a paucity of independent research examining the validity of these devices to detect physical activity of different intensity levels
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