Smartphone Fitness App, Wearable Activity Tracker Increases Physical Activity Level-Fitness

The fitness app and wearable activity tracker on your smartphone will help you increase your physical activity level and find available evidence reviews and pooled data analysis.

A review published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

The effect is small to moderate, but given the importance of health to increasing daily physical activity indefinitely, it may be worth prescribing to motivated patients, researchers say. ..

Globally, more than a quarter of adults do not meet the recommended physical activity level. Lack of physical activity is a major cause of death worldwide and is thought to cost billions of dollars each year.

The most effective strategies for increasing physical activity include behavioral change technologies such as self-monitoring and feedback that smartphone apps and wearable activity trackers can provide.

Ownership of smartphones is widespread, with about one-third of adults in the United States and the United Kingdom using activity trackers and fitness apps. However, previous reviews of these apps and trackers have not yielded consistent results. It also does not focus on healthy adults or cutting-edge technology.

To bridge this knowledge gap, researchers are looking for related studies published between January 2007 and January 2020 that are healthy 18-65 years old without long-term conditions. Was trawled.

They found 35 suitable comparative studies, including a total of 7454, of which 2107 (28%) were women. The intervention period lasted 2 to 40 weeks, averaging 13 weeks.

Pooling data from 28 of these studies showed that a smartphone app or activity tracker increased an average of 1850 steps of physical activity per day compared to other approaches. Analyzing the data seven more times, we found that the smartphone app and activity tracker significantly improved physical activity levels.

Text messaging, including prompts and queues, and apps and tracker programs that also included tuned features were more effective. In addition, certain components such as goal setting, planning, and difficulty-rated tasks were significantly associated with higher levels of effectiveness.

Researchers acknowledge that the studies involved differed in design and method and were of low to medium quality. Also, given the relatively small number of women involved, the results may not be widely applicable to both men and women.

Nonetheless, “interventions using smartphone apps or activity trackers appear promising from a clinical and public health standpoint, promoting a significant increase in steps of 1850 steps per day,” they said. writing.

“These results show that all physical activity, regardless of intensity, is associated with a reduced risk of death in a dose-response relationship, and that an increase of 1700 steps / day is significantly associated with a reduced mortality rate. According to recent evidence, it is important for public health. “

They add that allowing users to move beyond the first “new phase” depends on the quality of the experience, the overall utility, and the ability to integrate with other devices and services.

However, they emphasize that: “Given the growing popularity of smartphones, even the slightest improvement in physical activity can have a significant impact at the population level.”

And they could help clinicians whose findings “may prescribe apps and trackers as part of a shared decision-making process for individuals who appear to be ready to change their behavior.” Is high.

(This story is published from the news agency feed without changing the text.)

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