Smartphone fitness apps and consumption activity fans are significantly boosting physical activity levels, a new study reveals.
After analyzing data of 7,454 people, researchers found that smartphone apps or physical activity fans added an average of 1,850 steps per day.
Administrator apps and programs that incorporated text messaging included suggestions and issues, and more specific and personalized, more effective features.
This year there is a huge demand for skyrocketing in fitness apps to accommodate gym closures and long stays at home due to the coronavirus.
For example, the NHS-backed Couch app to 5k reached nearly a million downloads in just the first three months of locking alone.
Looking to be more active? Fitbit (pictured) may help increase physical activity levels with ‘small to medium size’
Activity trackers like FitBit and fitness apps help increase physical activity levels by a small to moderate level, but even a little improvement is far better than nothing.
Australian experts say it may be worth offering them on prescription for patients who are motivated to be healthier, cut inactivity or lose weight.
‘Interventions using smartphone apps or activity detectors appear to be promising from a clinical and public health perspective, driving a dramatic increase in the step count of 1850 degrees per day,’ they say in the report. their paper, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
‘With the widespread and growing availability of smartphones, even small improvements in physical activity can have a significant impact on the population level.
‘These results are valuable to clinicians, who could order apps and trackers as part of a shared decision-making process for individuals who are ready to make behavioral changes.’
Globally, more than a quarter of adults do not meet recommended levels of physical activity.
Physical inactivity represents the leading cause of death worldwide and is estimated to cost billions of dollars each year.
Some of the most effective strategies to increase physical activity include behavior change methods, such as self-examination and feedback, that smartphone apps and activity trackers can provide.
The only fitness requirement for the highly successful Couch to 5K plan is the ability to walk for 15 minutes
Smartphone ownership is widespread, while around a third of U.S. and UK adults use activity trackers and fitness apps.
But the reviews so far on these apps and trackers have not focused on healthy adults or modern technology.
To fill these information gaps, a team led by the University of Sydney found research databases looking for relevant studies published between January 2007 and January 2020, including unconditionally healthy 18- to 65-year-olds long term.
They found 35 relevant comparative studies, involving a total of 7,454 people, 2,107 (28 percent) women.
Compared to other approaches, smartphone apps or physical activity fans increased by an average of 1,850 steps per day, the team found after combining the data from 28 of these studies.
A further seven analyzes of the data showed that smartphone apps and activity fans significantly increased physical activity levels.
Some components, such as goal setting, design, and tasks were ranked according to difficulty level, associated with higher levels of efficiency, as were specific features and characteristics.
The researchers acknowledge that the studies included varied in design and methods, and the quality ranged from low to moderate.
Also, given the relatively small number of women involved, as a result of the inclusion of a few large-scale studies aimed solely at men, the results may not be widely relevant for each species.
Researchers suggest that smartphone users may be less interested in fitness apps after a pandemic.
Enabling users to move beyond this innovative first level will depend on the quality of the experience, overall functionality and the ability to integrate with other devices and services, the experts advise -development app.
Integrating sensory data from apps and trackers with electronic health record data will be useful for patients and clinicians – as is the Apple Health app, which pulls data from healthcare centers and acts as a personal health record , they add.
‘Such innovations, adding value to consumers, have the potential to inspire a new generation of public health interventions,’ the research paper reads.