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Behavior Change with Fitness Technology in Sedentary Adults: A Review of the Evidence for Increasing Physical Activity

Physical activity is closely linked with health and well-being; however, many Americans do not engage in regular exercise. Older adults and those with low socioeconomic status are especially at risk for poor health, largely due to their sedentary lifestyles. Fitness technology, including trackers an...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Sullivan, Alycia N., Lachman, Margie E.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5225122/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28123997
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2016.00289
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author Sullivan, Alycia N.
Lachman, Margie E.
author_facet Sullivan, Alycia N.
Lachman, Margie E.
author_sort Sullivan, Alycia N.
collection PubMed
description Physical activity is closely linked with health and well-being; however, many Americans do not engage in regular exercise. Older adults and those with low socioeconomic status are especially at risk for poor health, largely due to their sedentary lifestyles. Fitness technology, including trackers and smartphone applications (apps), has become increasingly popular for measuring and encouraging physical activity in recent years. However, many questions remain regarding the effectiveness of this technology for promoting behavior change. Behavior change techniques such as goal setting, feedback, rewards, and social factors are often included in fitness technology. However, it is not clear which components are most effective and which are actually being used by consumers. We discuss additional strategies not typically included in fitness technology devices or apps that are promising for engaging inactive, vulnerable populations. These include action planning, restructuring negative attitudes, enhancing environmental conditions, and identifying other barriers to regular physical activity. We consider which strategies are most conducive to motivating behavior change among sedentary adults. Overall, fitness technology has the potential to significantly impact public health, research, and policies. We suggest ways in which app developers and behavior change experts can collaborate to develop successful apps. Advances are still needed to help inactive individuals determine how, when, where, and with whom they can increase their physical activity.
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spelling pubmed-52251222017-01-25 Behavior Change with Fitness Technology in Sedentary Adults: A Review of the Evidence for Increasing Physical Activity Sullivan, Alycia N. Lachman, Margie E. Front Public Health Public Health Physical activity is closely linked with health and well-being; however, many Americans do not engage in regular exercise. Older adults and those with low socioeconomic status are especially at risk for poor health, largely due to their sedentary lifestyles. Fitness technology, including trackers and smartphone applications (apps), has become increasingly popular for measuring and encouraging physical activity in recent years. However, many questions remain regarding the effectiveness of this technology for promoting behavior change. Behavior change techniques such as goal setting, feedback, rewards, and social factors are often included in fitness technology. However, it is not clear which components are most effective and which are actually being used by consumers. We discuss additional strategies not typically included in fitness technology devices or apps that are promising for engaging inactive, vulnerable populations. These include action planning, restructuring negative attitudes, enhancing environmental conditions, and identifying other barriers to regular physical activity. We consider which strategies are most conducive to motivating behavior change among sedentary adults. Overall, fitness technology has the potential to significantly impact public health, research, and policies. We suggest ways in which app developers and behavior change experts can collaborate to develop successful apps. Advances are still needed to help inactive individuals determine how, when, where, and with whom they can increase their physical activity. Frontiers Media S.A. 2017-01-11 /pmc/articles/PMC5225122/ /pubmed/28123997 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2016.00289 Text en Copyright © 2017 Sullivan and Lachman. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Public Health
Sullivan, Alycia N.
Lachman, Margie E.
Behavior Change with Fitness Technology in Sedentary Adults: A Review of the Evidence for Increasing Physical Activity
title Behavior Change with Fitness Technology in Sedentary Adults: A Review of the Evidence for Increasing Physical Activity
title_full Behavior Change with Fitness Technology in Sedentary Adults: A Review of the Evidence for Increasing Physical Activity
title_fullStr Behavior Change with Fitness Technology in Sedentary Adults: A Review of the Evidence for Increasing Physical Activity
title_full_unstemmed Behavior Change with Fitness Technology in Sedentary Adults: A Review of the Evidence for Increasing Physical Activity
title_short Behavior Change with Fitness Technology in Sedentary Adults: A Review of the Evidence for Increasing Physical Activity
title_sort behavior change with fitness technology in sedentary adults: a review of the evidence for increasing physical activity
topic Public Health
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5225122/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28123997
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2016.00289
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