Wearable Fitness Devices Research Articles

The Role of Wearable Fitness Devices in Predicting Surgical Outcomes.

The Role of Wearable Fitness Devices in Predicting Surgical Outcomes.

Physiological presentation and risk factors of long COVID in the UK using smartphones and wearable devices: a longitudinal, citizen science, case–control study

The emergence of long COVID as a COVID-19 sequela was largely syndromic in characterisation. Digital health technologies such as wearable devices open the possibility to study this condition with passive, objective data in addition to self-reported symptoms. We aimed to quantify the prevalence and severity of symptoms across collected mobile health metrics over 12 weeks following COVID-19 diagnosis and to identify risk factors for the development of post-COVID-19 condition (also known as long COVID). The Covid Collab study was a longitudinal, self-enrolled, community, case-control study. We recruited participants from the UK through a smartphone app, media publications, and promotion within the Fitbit app between Aug 28, 2020, and May 31, 2021. Adults (aged ≥18 years) who reported a COVID-19 diagnosis with a positive antigen or PCR test before Feb 1, 2022, were eligible for inclusion. We compared a cohort of 1200 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 with a cohort of 3600 sex-matched and age-matched controls without a COVID-19 diagnosis. Participants could provide information on COVID-19 symptoms and mental health through self-reported questionnaires (active data) and commercial wearable fitness devices (passive data). Data were compared between cohorts at three periods following diagnosis: acute COVID-19 (0-4 weeks), ongoing COVID-19 (4-12 weeks), and post-COVID-19 (12-16 weeks). We assessed sociodemographic and mobile health risk factors for the development of long COVID (defined as either a persistent change in a physiological signal or self-reported symptoms for ≥12 weeks after COVID-19 diagnosis). By Aug 1, 2022, 17 667 participants had enrolled into the study, of whom 1200 (6·8%) cases and 3600 (20·4%) controls were included in the analyses. Compared with baseline (65 beats per min), resting heart rate increased significantly during the acute (0·47 beats per min; odds ratio [OR] 1·06 [95% CI 1·03-1·09]; p<0·0001), ongoing (0·99 beats per min; 1·11 [1·08-1·14]; p<0·0001), and post-COVID-19 (0·52 beats per min; 1·04 [1·02-1·07]; p=0·0017) phases. An increased level of historical activity in the period from 24 months to 6 months preceding COVID-19 diagnosis was protective against long COVID (coefficient -0·017 [95% CI -0·030 to -0·003]; p=0·015). Depressive symptoms were persistently elevated following COVID-19 (OR 1·03 [95% CI 1·01-1·06]; p=0·0033) and were a potential risk factor for developing long COVID (1·14 [1·07-1·22]; p<0·0001). Mobile health technologies and commercial wearable devices might prove to be a useful resource for tracking recovery from COVID-19 and the prevalence of its long-term sequelae, as well as representing an abundant source of historical data. Mental wellbeing can be impacted negatively for an extended period following COVID-19. National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, UK Research and Innovation, and Medical Research Council.

Deep learning-assisted flexible piezoresistive sensor with liquid-phase reduced metal electrodes for fitness movement recognition and correction

Flexibility and wearability in electronic devices gain prominence with the rise of national fitness campaigns. Among them, piezoresistive sensors stand out for their ability to accurately monitor health signals due to their high sensitivity. However, conventional metal nanoparticle ink electrodes face issues like peeling, chemical instability, and substrate limitations. This study introduces a novel method for fabricating high-performance flexible piezoresistive sensors using liquid-phase reduced metal electrodes. Integration of porous polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates with highly conductive interdigital silver electrodes (1.6 × 10−6 Ω·m) addresses conventional electrode shortcomings, offering permeability, flexibility, and outstanding conductivity. Incorporation of a graphene (GR)/carbon nanotube (CNT)/Ecoflex composite enhances sensor piezoresistive sensing capabilities, with features including high sensitivity (3.57 KPa−1), rapid response time (58 ms/72 ms), and excellent cycle stability (>10000 cycles). The sensor finds utility in various applications, including human physiological signal monitoring, pressure array recognition, and handwriting recognition. Additionally, with deep learning techniques, the system achieves accurate recognition (99.25 %) and correction (98.75 %) of diverse fitness movements, aiming to promote safer exercise practices, enhance training efficiency, and advance intelligent wearable fitness devices.

Modelling the significance of value-belief-norm framework to predict mass adoption potentials of internet of things-enabled wearable fitness devices

Self-health monitoring technologies have become increasingly popular in averting unanticipated health complications. However, the adoption rate of such technologies in developing countries is surprisingly low. Furthermore, empirical studies on the application of the value-belief-norm (VBN) model to elucidate intention to use IoT-enabled wearable fitness devices (IoT-enabled WFDs) are scarce. This study aimed to expand the VBN model by integrating health values, health consciousness, health knowledge-seeking, and social norms as influencing constructs. The proposed holistic framework was empirically tested to examine these constructs on users' decision-making process of adopting IoT-enabled WFDs. A web-based survey involving 866 adults in China aged 18–30 years was conducted. The gathered data were analysed using partial least squares-structural equation modeling. The results revealed the significant influence of health consciousness and health knowledge-seeking on personal health beliefs, as well as the favourable impact of personal health beliefs on personal norms and awareness of consequences. The results further demonstrated the substantial influence of awareness of consequences and ascription of responsibilities on personal norms. Besides that, personal norms and societal norms were found to have strong influence on the intention to adopt IoT-enabled WFDs, which was revealed to have significant influence on the actual usage. This study's findings offer novel theoretical insights on the behavioural characteristics of adopting IoT-enabled WFDs and serve as a practical guideline for industry experts and marketers to establish appropriate marketing strategies to support the IoT-enabled wearable sector. The findings also benefit policymakers in their efforts of developing strategies that emphasise the unique benefits of self-healthcare monitoring to encourage active lifestyle and decrease obesity and overweight-related health risks.

Innovative Exercise in a New Normal

Innovative exercise is an important aspect of a healthy lifestyle. The availability of various resources has made it easier for people to find activities that they enjoy and that meet their fitness goals. In addition to traditional exercises like running, weightlifting, and yoga, there are also new, exciting forms of exercise such as virtual reality fitness, aerial yoga, and trampoline workout classes. Technology has also played a major role in making exercise more accessible and convenient. For example, there are fitness apps that allow users to track their progress, set goals, and participate in virtual workout classes from the comfort of their own homes. Wearable fitness devices, such as fitness trackers and smartwatches, make it easy to monitor physical activity and track progress in real-time. In addition to these technological advancements, there is also an increased focus on making fitness facilities more inclusive and accessible to all. This includes the incorporation of accessible equipment, sensory-friendly environments, and adaptive fitness programs for individuals with disabilities. Overall, the trend towards innovative exercise is not only providing people with new and exciting ways to stay active, but it is also helping to address the challenges posed by the pandemic and other emerging health threats. By continuing to evolve and adapt to changing circumstances, the fitness industry is playing an important role in promoting health and wellness for people around the world.

What Makes Consumers Adopt a Wearable Fitness Device?

Wearable fitness devices are equipped with internet connectivity and capable of tracking, storing, and transmitting health data. A research model is proposed and tested, which shows how cognitive, affective, social, and motivational consumer factors affect the intention to adopt wearables, respectively. The antecedents of these factors are also studied, including perceived usefulness, ease of use, and effectiveness for cognitive factors; positive and negative feelings for affective factors; perceived number of users, number of peers, and social images for social factors. An online survey was conducted among 297 non-wearable-users in the U.S. to collect data. Structural equation modeling was used to test the intention model. The results showed that three factors—cognitive, affective, and motivational—emerged as key determinants of consumers' intention to adopt wearables, with affective factors showing the most explanatory power. The role of the price factor was also revealed. Theoretical and business practical implications are discussed based on the current findings.

Knowledge, usability, and impact of wearable fitness devices among community exercisers in Ghana

BackgroundThere has been a rapid evolution of wearable technologies such as wearable fitness devices (WFDs) in recent years globally. The continuous release of upgraded WFDs with diverse qualities presents new opportunities for research into their knowledge, usability, and impact in developed countries. Although few studies have separately examined the knowledge, usability, and impact of WFDs in Sub-Saharan Africa, more information is needed on combined knowledge, usability, and impact of smart WFDs among Ghanaians. The present study (1) assessed the knowledge, usability, and impact of WFDs among healthy community exercisers, and (2) investigated the factors that affect the usage and barriers to the use of WFDs in Ghana.MethodsThe quantitative descriptive design study had 152 healthy community exercisers (mean age = 23.37 ± 5.18 years) as participants. Self-structured questionnaire and System Usability Scale were administered.ResultsThere were more non-users of WFDs (73.7%) than users (26.3%). Knowledge on WFDs among participants was high, usability was poor (mean SUS score = 66.87 ± 13.67) among users, and a positively fair impact on users was obtained. Performance expectancy was among the other factors that affected the usage of WFDs and price value was among the significant barriers identified.ConclusionThere are more non-users of WFDs than users. Knowledge on WFDs among participants was high, usability was poor among users with positively fair impact on users.

Exploring the mass adoption potential of wearable fitness devices in Malaysia.

The current study explores the formation of an intention to use wearable fitness devices (WFDs) with wearable fitness attributes and health consciousness (HCS). Moreover, the research examines the use of WFDs with the health motivation (HMT) and intention to use WFDs. The study also exposes the moderating effect of HMT between the intention to use WFDs and the use of WFDs. Five hundred and twenty-five adults participated in the current study, and data were collected from January 2021 to March 2021 through the online survey of Malaysian respondents. The cross-sectional data was analyzed using the second-generation statistical method of partial least square structural equation modeling. HCS is insignificantly associated with the intention to use WFDs. Perceived compatibility, perceived product value, perceived usefulness, and perceived technology accuracy significantly influence the intention to use WFDs. HMT significantly impacts the adoption of WFDs; however, the intention to use WFDs negatively but significantly influences the use of WFDs. Lastly, the association between the intention to use WFDs and the adoption of WFDs is significantly moderated by HMT. Our study findings illuminate the significant impact of technology-level attributes of WFDs on the intention to use WFDs. However, an insignificant impact of HCS on the intention to use WFDs was reported. Our result confirms that HMT plays a significant role in the use of WFDs. Such as the moderating role of HMT is vital to transform the intention to use WFDs into the adoption of WFDs.

The Moderating Role of Privacy Concerns on Intention to Use Smart Wearable Technologies: An Integrated Model Combining UTAUT2 Theoretical Framework and Privacy Dimensions

Wearable healthcare technologies enable continuous monitoring of wearers’ health status and the implementation of preventive measures that significantly improve their health. In recent years, the popularity of wearable fitness devices has skyrocketed. Privacy concerns are a significant impediment to more people using these devices. This study aims to understand the moderating role of privacy concerns on users’ intentions to use wearable fitness technologies. The theoretical model for this study integrates the UTAUT2 framework and privacy concerns as a second-order model. The study follows a quantitative research approach, using a questionnaire to collect data. The PLS-SEM model was used to test the theoretical model. The integrated model with the indirect effect of privacy concerns explained higher variance in predicting the behavioral intention to use wearable fitness devices. Price value, performance expectancy, habit, and facilitating conditions all had a significant influence on users’ decisions to use wearable fitness devices, while privacy concerns moderated the relationship between UTAUT2 constructs for behavioral intention to use these devices. This study confirmed that the UTAUT2 model could be extended to explain the initial adoption of smart wearable fitness devices. Prior studies investigated the intention to use smart wearable devices, but few addressed privacy concerns associated with wearable fitness devices. This study addressed this gap by investigating the moderating role of privacy concerns on the intention to use wearable fitness devices. The integrated theoretical model developed uncovers users’ privacy concerns related to these systems.

A Visual Variability and Visuo‐Tactile Coordination Inspired Child Adaptation Mechanism for Wearable Age Group Recognition and Activity Recognition

Not all wearable fitness devices are suitable for children. Due to the decay of activity recognition accuracy and exercise requirement variety caused by the physical differences between adults and children, devices developed for adults cannot provide appropriate exercise guidance to children. Considering the complexity and time‐consuming nature of developing a new children‐specific model, this article proposes a child adaptation mechanism that can be integrated into current adult wearable devices. Two algorithms using unlabeled children's data for age group recognition and activity recognition inspired by the visual variability in cognitive process and visuo‐tactile coordination phenomenon in cortical plasticity are proposed. During an experiment on 30 adults and children, the age group recognition algorithm achieves 93.33% recognition accuracy, and the activity recognition algorithm achieves 88.57% recognition accuracy. This is an 11.16% improvement compared with the baseline and 2.87–4.1% improvement compared with the state‐of‐the‐art transfer learning or self‐adaptation algorithms. The proposed mechanism ameliorates current wearable devices with minimum cost to make them suitable for children and can serve as an alternative to help children learn healthy exercise habits. It is hoped that the work can draw the attention of academia to vulnerable groups, including children, to build a friendlier artificial intelligence network.

Understanding Determinants of End-User’s Continuance Intention on Fitness Wearable Technology

With more and more people adopting wearable fitness devices to help them carry out physical activities more regularly, the market analysis reports a relatively high abandonment rate after six months of usage. This article aims to contribute to consumer study in fitness wearable technology by understanding the underlying determinants of consumer’s continuance intention to use wearable fitness devices (e.g., fitness trackers), and proposing a few suggestions to fitness wearable companies and designers for further product development. This research article consists of two empirical studies. In the first study, we propose a research model that is based on the expectation-confirmation model and integrates two extra factors, which are 'technology innovativeness’ and 'eHealth literacy’. The data collection is done via online surveys. The second study is intended to design upon the findings from the first study, during which we did arrange an offline education intervention for student participants and conduct a 2 × 2 experimental study. For both studies, we use quantitative methods to analyse data and draw conclusions. From the first study, we found that users’ technology innovativeness and eHealth literacy will indirectly influence their continuous intention to use wearable fitness devices. The second study reveals that male consumers tend to increase their continuance intention to use wearable fitness devices when their eHealth literacy has been enhanced by training. To sum up, the value of this article lies in two aspects. First, it is the first study in the field of fitness wearable technology (FWT) to learn how consumer behaviour will be influenced by a person’s eHealth literacy. Second, our study goes further to investigate to what extent the improvement of eHealth literacy will influence consumer’s continuous intention.

Can You Help Me Stay Fit?

The main purpose of this study is to reveal the impact of consumer satisfaction on continuance intention to use wearable fitness devices. Building upon the IS Continuance Intention Model, the authors explored the effects of confirmation of ease of use, confirmation of perceived usefulness, positive and negative feelings, and perceived control on consumer satisfaction. The effects of health motivation and social influence on continuance intention were examined alongside satisfaction. Our model consists of twelve constructs and eleven hypotheses. An online survey was conducted among 216 Amazon M-Turk workers to collect data. The measurement model was first tested and validated. Next, structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses in the research model. Nine out of eleven hypotheses were supported. The model explains 50.1% of variances in continuance intention, and 63.9% of variance in consumer satisfaction is explained by the aforementioned factors. Both theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed in the context of wearable technology.

Modeling the Intention and Adoption of Wearable Fitness Devices: A Study Using SEM-PLS Analysis.

Wearable fitness devices (WFDs) are prevalent personal technology that empowers the users' management and supervision of their personal health. The current study explored the impact of health consciousness, health motivation, perceived cost, compatibility, usefulness, and perceived technology accuracy with the intention to use the WFDs. Furthermore, the users' conspicuous consumption and intention promote the usage of WFDs. A cross-sectional and quantitative research design was utilized for the current study, followed by data collection through social media and a final analysis with 1,071 samples data. The data analysis was accomplished with the partial least square regression structural equation modeling. The findings of this study revealed that the users' level of health consciousness, perceived compatibility, usefulness, perceived cost, and technology accuracy significantly influenced the intention to use WFDs. However, the conspicuous consumption and intention indicated the support for the usage behavior of the WFDs. This behavior significantly moderated the relationship between the intention and usage behavior for the WFDs. This study contributed to the theoretical realm for prompting the intention to use the WFDs with personal protection motivation that depicts the coping strategy and technology level attributes that form the intention to use WFDs. The WFDs manufacturers should therefore focus on developing WFDs features that harness usage behavior among the adults. Developing the personal responsibility to reduce the burden of the healthcare system and taking care of personal health could promote the usage of the WFDs.

The Effect of the Motivation of Wearable Fitness Devices Use on Exercise Engagement: The Mediating Effect of Exercise Commitment

The Effect of the Motivation of Wearable Fitness Devices Use on Exercise Engagement: The Mediating Effect of Exercise Commitment

A Blockchain-Based Consent Mechanism for Access to Fitness Data in the Healthcare Context

Wearable fitness devices are widely used to track an individual's health and physical activities to improve the quality of health services. These devices sense a considerable amount of sensitive data processed by a centralized third party. While many researchers have thoroughly evaluated privacy issues surrounding wearable fitness trackers, no study has addressed privacy issues in trackers by giving control of the data to the user. Blockchain is an emerging technology with outstanding advantages in resolving consent management privacy concerns. As there are no fully transparent, legally compliant solutions for sharing personal fitness data, this study introduces an architecture for a human-centric, legally compliant, decentralized and dynamic consent system based on blockchain and smart contracts. Algorithms and sequence diagrams of the proposed system's activities show consent-related data flow among various agents, which are used later to prove the system's trustworthiness by formalizing the security requirements. The security properties of the proposed system were evaluated using the formal security modeling framework SeMF, which demonstrates the feasibility of the solution at an abstract level based on formal language theory. As a result, we have empirically proven that blockchain technology is suitable for mitigating the privacy issues of fitness providers by recording individuals' consent using blockchain and smart contracts.

Factors influencing actual usage of fitness tracking devices: Empirical evidence from the UTAUT model

This research investigates factors influencing the actual usage of wearable fitness devices. Based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, the authors propose that privacy concerns, social influence, data accuracy, device engagement, and user efficacy impact the actual usage of wearable fitness devices via performance and effort expectancy. Based on 124 responses using the structural equation approach, most hypotheses were supported. The social influence had the strongest indirect effect through performance expectancy, while user efficacy had the strongest indirect effect through effort expectancy. Data accuracy and device engagement had a positive influence on actual usage and privacy concerns negatively affected the device’s use.

Acceptance of wearable fitness devices in developing countries: exploring the country and gender-specific differences

PurposeNotwithstanding the novelty and importance of wearable fitness devices, few studies have focussed on comparing the drivers of adoption and usage of wearable fitness in the context of developing countries. This study aims to explore factors that drive overall acceptance of wearable fitness devices in developing countries (India and the Philippines) and whether the impact of these factors on the intention to adopt (INT) differs by country and gender.Design/methodology/approachThe study extends the existing body of knowledge by developing a model that integrates the impact of various perceived benefits (health, autonomy, social, hedonic, symbolic), health self-efficacy (HEALTHSE) and individual characteristics (technological innovativeness [TI]) on the INT wearable fitness devices and the moderating impact of country and gender. The analysis was carried out using partial least square and data of 343 respondents.FindingsThis study finds that the INT wearable fitness devices by consumers in developing countries are positively impacted by hedonic, health and autonomy, HEALTHSE and TI. Symbolic and social factors do not have any significant impact on the overall INT wearable fitness devices. However, there are country and gender-specific differences that are consequential to the development of marketing strategies.Research limitations/implicationsThe framework and results are specific to the two countries and limited by convenience sampling. Future research can focus on replication across different countries and extend the model with additional contextual factors such as perceived risks.Originality/valueTo the best knowledge of the authors, this is one of the few studies to examine and compare the drivers of adoption of wearable fitness devices in lesser researched developing countries. Also, it is one of the few studies to compare the moderating impact of country and gender in the context of the INT wearable devices. The study provides a theoretical and methodological foundation for future research, as well as practical implications for global companies developing and promoting wearable fitness devices.

Wearable Fitness Devices: An Investigation into Co-constructed Meaning of Use

This article investigates practical uses of Wear Fitness Devices (WFDs) and extends literature to include a co-constructed process. Previous research has looked at various aspects of the devices. Yet, this article explores WFD at the crossroads of communication and sport. Researchers conducted 43 in-depth interviews about their WFD usage patterns. The researchers utilize the Coordinated Management of Meaning to understand the themes that emerged. Researchers also discuss the co-construction of understanding that occurred during interviews that revealed the concept of mindless usage. Researchers also demonstrate the relevance of Uses and Gratifications in uncovering five key themes: “features and benefits,” “health and fitness,” “motivation,” “communication,” and “life changes.” The interview process reveals a shift in understanding the meaning of WFD use and reveals themes that demonstrate practical usage. Suggestions for future research on WFD are also provided.

Heterogeneous self-tracked health and fitness data integration and sharing according to a linked open data approach

The huge volume of data gathered from wearable fitness devices and wellness appliances, if effectively analysed and integrated, can be exploited to improve clinical decision making and to stimulate promising applications, as they can provide good measures of everyday patient behaviour and lifestyle. However, several obstacles currently limit the true exploitation of these opportunities. In particular, the healthcare landscape is characterised by a pervasive presence of data silos which prevent users and healthcare professionals from obtaining an overall view of the knowledge, mainly due to the lack of device interoperability and data representation format heterogeneity. This work focuses on current, important needs in self-tracked health data modelling, and summarises challenges and opportunities that will characterise the community in the upcoming years. The paper describes a virtually integrated approach using standard Web Semantic technologies and Linked Open Data to cope with heterogeneous health data integration. The proposed approach is verified using data collected from several IoT fitness vendors to form a standard context-aware resource graph, and linking other health ontologies and open projects. We developed a web portal for integrating, sharing and analysing through a customisable dashboard heterogeneous IoT health and fitness data. In this way, we are able to map information onto an integrated domain model by providing support for logical reasoning.

Five-year pediatric use of a digital wearable fitness device: lessons from a pilot case study.

ObjectivesWearable fitness devices are increasingly being used by the general population, with many new applications being proposed for healthy adults as well as for adults with chronic diseases. Fewer, if any, studies of these devices have been conducted in healthy adolescents and teenagers, especially over a long period of time. The goal of this work was to document the successes and challenges involved in 5 years of a wearable fitness device use in a pediatric case study.Materials and methodsComparison of 5 years of step counts and minutes asleep from a teenaged girl and her father.ResultsAt 60 months, this may be the longest reported pediatric study involving a wearable fitness device, and the first simultaneously involving a parent and a child. We find step counts to be significantly higher for both the adult and teen on school/work days, along with less sleep. The teen walked significantly less towards the end of the 5-year study. Surprisingly, many of the adult’s and teen’s sleeping and step counts were correlated, possibly due to coordinated behaviors.DiscussionWe end with several recommendations for pediatricians and device manufacturers, including the need for constant adjustments of stride length and calorie counts as teens are growing.ConclusionWith periodic adjustments for growth, this pilot study shows these devices can be used for more accurate and consistent measurements in adolescents and teenagers over longer periods of time, to potentially promote healthy behaviors.