Previously submitted to: JMIR Serious Games (no longer under consideration since May 16, 2025)
Date Submitted: Feb 5, 2025
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Pandemic-Era Virtual Fitness Experiences: A Usability Comparison of Digital Exercise Applications among Youths
ABSTRACT
Background:
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly altered lifestyles, with an increasing reliance on digital fitness applications and devices for home workouts. Among these, the Nike Training Club (NTC) app and Nintendo’s Ring Fit Adventure (RFA) emerged as popular solutions for young individuals seeking to maintain physical activity.
Objective:
This study aims to compare the usability of NTC and RFA among young users and explore the influence of gender on their usability evaluations.
Methods:
A total of 93 participants aged 18–30 were randomly assigned to either the NTC group (n=42) or the RFA group (n=51). Over four weeks, participants engaged in guided workouts, with usability assessed using the System Usability Scale (SUS). Data analysis included descriptive statistics and generalized linear models (GLM) to identify factors influencing usability scores.
Results:
Compared with the NTC group, the RFA group scored higher on the SUS, particularly in aspects such as "willingness to use" and "system simplicity." Compared with male participants, female participants had significantly higher SUS scores, irrespective of the product. Usability evaluations were also positively associated with participants’ self-reported quality of life.
Conclusions:
The findings highlight the potential of digital fitness applications to increase physical activity engagement. The RFA's gamified design and the NTC's structured fitness modules cater to diverse user preferences. Gender differences in usability underscore the need for inclusive design considerations to maximize user satisfaction and health outcomes.
Citation
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Copyright
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