Investing in college students: the role of the fitness tracker

Fitness trackers are becoming a popular way to encourage physical activity and impact health behaviors. Although many college students may own and use fitness trackers, they remain a high-risk group in terms of rates of obesity and lack of physical activity. In this study, college students were provided with fitness trackers to self-monitor step count. Pre- and post-measures of body composition, resting heart rate and blood pressure, knowledge of physical activity behaviors and perception of wellness were used to determine the impact of the fitness trackers. The research was completed in two phases: phase one with completely voluntary participation and phase two as a part of a required general education wellness course. Results did not indicate a significant change in step count over 12 weeks nor did they show positive change in body measurements; however, there were indicators of activity benefits. Knowledge and perception of wellness were not positively impacted in the voluntary study; however, when the education component was required, some increases in knowledge and perception of wellness were shown in the general education course. Many lessons were learned in the study that should be considered when planning future research with fitness trackers in the college-age setting.