Petersen Jasmine Maria, Kemps Eva, Lewis Lucy K, Prichard Ivanka
SHAPE Research Centre, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia.
Caring Futures Institute, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia.
J Med Internet Res. 2020 Jun 3;22(6):e17152. doi: 10.2196/17152.
In today's society, commercial physical activity apps (eg, Fitbit and Strava) are ubiquitous and hold considerable potential to increase physical activity behavior. Many commercial physical activity apps incorporate social components, in particular app-specific communities (allowing users to interact with other app users) or the capacity to connect to existing social networking platforms (eg, Facebook or Instagram). There is a growing need to gain greater insights into whether commercial physical activity apps and specific components of these apps (social components) are beneficial in facilitating physical activity.
This study aimed to examine the relationship between the use of commercial physical activity apps and engagement in physical activity. The social components of commercial physical activity apps (app-specific communities and existing social networking platforms) were also explored. This involved isolating specific features (eg, sharing, providing, and receiving encouragement, comparisons, and competitions) of app-specific communities and existing social networking platforms that were most valuable in facilitating physical activity.
A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted. Participants were 1432 adults (mean age 34.1 years, 1256/1432, 88.00% female) who completed measures assessing physical activity, the use of commercial physical activity apps, and engagement with app-specific communities and existing social networking platforms.
Overall, 53.14% (761/1432) of the sample reported engaging with a commercial physical activity app. The most commonly used apps were Fitbit (171/761, 22.5%), Strava (130/761, 17.1%), and Garmin (102/761, 13.4%). The use of physical activity apps was significantly associated with physical activity. Notably, the use of app-specific communities and existing social networking platforms facilitated significantly greater engagement in physical activity. The features of app-specific communities that were most beneficial in promoting engagement in physical activity were providing encouragement to a partner, receiving encouragement from close friends and family, and engaging in competitions with members of public app-specific communities. In relation to existing social networking platforms, sharing physical activity posts predicted engagement in physical activity.
The findings indicate that app-specific communities and existing social networking platforms are components of apps that are fundamental in facilitating physical activity. They further suggest that commercial physical activity apps afford high population level reach and hold great potential to promote engagement in physical activity, an important public health consideration.
在当今社会，商业体育活动应用程序（如Fitbit和Strava）无处不在，在增加体育活动行为方面具有巨大潜力。许多商业体育活动应用程序都融入了社交元素，特别是特定应用程序的社区（允许用户与其他应用程序用户互动）或连接到现有社交网络平台（如Facebook或Instagram）的功能。越来越有必要更深入地了解商业体育活动应用程序及其特定组成部分（社交组件）在促进体育活动方面是否有益。
本研究旨在探讨商业体育活动应用程序的使用与体育活动参与之间的关系。还对商业体育活动应用程序的社交组件（特定应用程序社区和现有社交网络平台）进行了探索。这涉及分离特定应用程序社区和现有社交网络平台中在促进体育活动方面最有价值的特定功能（如分享、提供和接受鼓励、比较和竞争）。
进行了一项基于网络的横断面调查。参与者为1432名成年人（平均年龄34.1岁，1256/1432，88.00%为女性），他们完成了评估体育活动、商业体育活动应用程序的使用以及与特定应用程序社区和现有社交网络平台互动的测量。
总体而言，53.14%（761/1432）的样本报告使用过商业体育活动应用程序。最常用的应用程序是Fitbit（171/761，22.5%）、Strava（130/761，17.1%）和Garmin（102/761，13.4%）。体育活动应用程序的使用与体育活动显著相关。值得注意的是，特定应用程序社区和现有社交网络平台的使用显著促进了更多的体育活动参与。特定应用程序社区中在促进体育活动参与方面最有益的功能是向伙伴提供鼓励、从亲密朋友和家人那里获得鼓励以及与公共特定应用程序社区的成员进行竞争。关于现有社交网络平台，分享体育活动帖子可预测体育活动参与情况。
研究结果表明，特定应用程序社区和现有社交网络平台是应用程序中促进体育活动的基本组成部分。它们还表明，商业体育活动应用程序具有很高的人群覆盖率，在促进体育活动参与方面具有巨大潜力，这是一个重要的公共卫生考量因素。
