Friel Ciarán P, Garber Carol Ewing
Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Center for Behavioral Cardiovascular Health, 21611Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
Am J Health Promot. 2020 Sep;34(7):762-769. doi: 10.1177/0890117120919366. Epub 2020 Apr 24.
There has been an explosion in the use of wearable activity trackers (WATs), but we do not fully understand who wears them and why. This study's purpose was to describe the characteristics of WAT users and to compare current and former users.
A variety of internet-based resources (eg, Craigslist, Facebook) were used to recruit current and former WAT users. Respondents completed a web-based survey, where they provided information on sociodemographic characteristics, health, physical activity behavior, and about their WAT use.
Of the 2826 respondents who gave informed consent, 70.8% (n = 2002) met inclusion criteria for this analysis. Respondents ranged from 18 to 81 years old (mean 32.9 ± 12.2 standard deviation) with 73.8% women. Most were current WAT users (68.7%), and the average length of WAT use overall was 9.3 ± 9.7 months. On average, current users wore the device for 3.7 months longer than former users. Compared to current users, former users had a lower body mass index (1.2 kg/m less), reported fewer medical conditions, shared data from their device less often, and received the device as a gift more frequently.
Current and former users varied in their reasons for using a WAT and how they used their device. Differences identified between these groups support further exploration of associations between WAT users' profiles and their physical activity behavior.
可穿戴活动追踪器（WATs）的使用呈爆发式增长，但我们尚未完全了解哪些人佩戴它们以及原因。本研究的目的是描述WAT用户的特征，并比较当前用户和以前的用户。
利用各种基于互联网的资源（如克雷格列表网、脸书）招募当前和以前的WAT用户。受访者完成了一项基于网络的调查，在调查中他们提供了社会人口学特征、健康状况、身体活动行为以及关于其WAT使用情况的信息。
在2826名给予知情同意的受访者中，70.8%（n = 2002）符合本分析的纳入标准。受访者年龄在18岁至81岁之间（平均32.9±12.2标准差），女性占73.8%。大多数是当前的WAT用户（68.7%），总体上WAT的平均使用时长为9.3±9.7个月。当前用户平均佩戴该设备的时间比以前的用户长3.7个月。与当前用户相比，以前的用户体重指数较低（低1.2kg/m²），报告的健康问题较少，较少分享设备数据，且更频繁地将设备作为礼物收到。
当前用户和以前的用户在使用WAT的原因以及使用设备的方式上存在差异。这些群体之间发现的差异支持进一步探索WAT用户特征与其身体活动行为之间的关联。
