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      App use, physical activity and healthy lifestyle: a cross sectional study

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          Abstract

          Background

          Physical inactivity is a growing public health concern. Use of mobile applications (apps) may be a powerful tool to encourage physical activity and a healthy lifestyle. For instance, apps may be used in the preparation of a running event. However, there is little evidence for the relationship between app use and change in physical activity and health in recreational runners. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the use of apps and changes in physical activity, health and lifestyle behaviour, and self-image of short and long distance runners.

          Methods

          A cross sectional study was designed. A random selection of 15,000 runners (of 54,000 participants) of a 16 and 6.4 km recreational run (Dam tot Damloop) in the Netherlands was invited to participate in an online survey two days after the run. Anthropometrics, app use, activity level, preparation for running event, running physical activity (RPA), health and lifestyle, and self-image were addressed. A chi-squared test was conducted to analyse differences between app users and non-app users in baseline characteristics as well as in RPA, healthy lifestyle and perceived health. In addition, a multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to determine if app use could predict RPA, perceived health and lifestyle, and self-image.

          Results

          Of the 15,000 invited runners, 28 % responded. For both distances, app use was positively related to RPA and feeling healthier ( p < 0.05). Also, app use was positively related to feeling better about themselves, feeling like an athlete, motivating others to participate in running, and losing weight ( p < 0.01). Furthermore, for 16 km runners app use was positively related to eating healthier, feeling more energetic and reporting a higher chance to maintain sport behaviour ( p < 0.05).

          Conclusions

          These results suggest that use of mobile apps has a beneficial role in the preparation of a running event, as it promotes health and physical activity. Further research is now needed to determine a causal relationship between app use and physical and health related behaviour.

          Electronic supplementary material

          The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-015-2165-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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          Most cited references27

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          Apps to promote physical activity among adults: a review and content analysis

          Background In May 2013, the iTunes and Google Play stores contained 23,490 and 17,756 smartphone applications (apps) categorized as Health and Fitness, respectively. The quality of these apps, in terms of applying established health behavior change techniques, remains unclear. Methods The study sample was identified through systematic searches in iTunes and Google Play. Search terms were based on Boolean logic and included AND combinations for physical activity, healthy lifestyle, exercise, fitness, coach, assistant, motivation, and support. Sixty-four apps were downloaded, reviewed, and rated based on the taxonomy of behavior change techniques used in the interventions. Mean and ranges were calculated for the number of observed behavior change techniques. Using nonparametric tests, we compared the number of techniques observed in free and paid apps and in iTunes and Google Play. Results On average, the reviewed apps included 5 behavior change techniques (range 2–8). Techniques such as self-monitoring, providing feedback on performance, and goal-setting were used most frequently, whereas some techniques such as motivational interviewing, stress management, relapse prevention, self-talk, role models, and prompted barrier identification were not. No differences in the number of behavior change techniques between free and paid apps, or between the app stores were found. Conclusions The present study demonstrated that apps promoting physical activity applied an average of 5 out of 23 possible behavior change techniques. This number was not different for paid and free apps or between app stores. The most frequently used behavior change techniques in apps were similar to those most frequently used in other types of physical activity promotion interventions.
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            The influence of social networking sites on health behavior change: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

            Our aim was to evaluate the use and effectiveness of interventions using social networking sites (SNSs) to change health behaviors.
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              Sensor Mania! The Internet of Things, Wearable Computing, Objective Metrics, and the Quantified Self 2.0

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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                j.m.dallinga@hva.nl
                m.mennes@hva.nl
                laurence.alpay@inholland.nl
                harmen.bijwaard@inholland.nl
                m.baart.de.la.faille@hva.nl
                Journal
                BMC Public Health
                BMC Public Health
                BMC Public Health
                BioMed Central (London )
                1471-2458
                28 August 2015
                28 August 2015
                2015
                : 15
                : 833
                Affiliations
                [ ]School of Sports and Nutrition, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Dr. Meurerlaan 8, 1067 SM Amsterdam, The Netherlands
                [ ]Faculty of Health, Sports and Social Work, Inholland University of Applied Sciences, Blijdorplaan 15, 2015 CE Haarlem, The Netherlands
                Article
                2165
                10.1186/s12889-015-2165-8
                4552464
                ab45e058-6861-464e-a1c4-479d6ac06170
                © Dallinga et al. 2015

                Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.

                History
                : 29 April 2015
                : 18 August 2015
                Categories
                Research Article
                Custom metadata
                © The Author(s) 2015

                Public health
                Public health

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