Accepted for/Published in: JMIR mHealth and uHealth
Date Submitted: Jul 16, 2018
Date Accepted: Feb 11, 2019
Factors Influencing Exercise Engagement When Using Activity Trackers
ABSTRACT
Background:
It is well reported that tracking physical activity can lead to sustained exercise routines which can decrease disease risk. However, most stop using trackers within a couple months of initial use. The reasons people stop using activity trackers can be varied and personal. Understanding the reasons for discontinued use could lead to greater acceptance of tracking and more regular exercise engagement.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to determine the individualistic reasons for non-engagement with activity trackers.
Methods:
Overweight and obese participants (n=30) were enrolled and allowed to choose an activity tracker of their choice to use for 9 weeks. Questionnaires were administered at the beginning and end of the study to collect data on their technology use, as well as social, physiological and psychological attributes that may influence tracker use. Closeout interviews were also conducted to further identify individual influencers and attributes. Additionally, daily steps were collected from the activity tracker.
Results:
The results of the study indicate that participants typically valued the knowledge of their activity level the activity tracker gave them, but it was not a sufficient motivator to overcome personal barriers to maintain or increase exercise engagement. Extrinsically-motivated participants were more influenced by an activity tracker than intrinsically motivated participants.
Conclusions:
During the study, participants who reported either owning multiple technology devices or knowing someone who used multiple devices were more likely to remain engaged with their activity tracker. This study lays foundation for developing a smart application that could promote individual engagement with activity trackers.
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.