ArticleJMIR mHealth and uHealth2017
Ownership and Use of Commercial Physical Activity Trackers Among Finnish Adolescents: Cross-Sectional Study.
Article in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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14 citing papers in PubMed, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Use of Digital Media for Home-Based Sports Activities during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results from the German SPOVID Survey.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Young People's Use of Digital Health Technologies in the Global North: Narrative Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Review
- Clusters of Adolescent Physical Activity Tracker Patterns and Their Associations With Physical Activity Behaviors in Finland and Ireland: Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Article
- Translatability of a Wearable Technology Intervention to Increase Adolescent Physical Activity: Mixed Methods Implementation Evaluation.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Article
- Promoting healthy teenage behaviour across three European countries through the use of a novel smartphone technology platform, PEGASO fit for future: study protocol of a quasi-experimental, controlled, multi-Centre trial.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2019Article
- Opportunities of Wearable Technology to Increase Physical Activity in Individuals with Chronic Disease: An Editorial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- Digital Inequalities in the Use of Self-Tracking Diet and Fitness Apps: Interview Study on the Influence of Social, Economic, and Cultural Factors.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2018Article
- User types, psycho-social effects and societal trends related to the use of consumer health technologies.Digital healthReview
- Promoting child and adolescent health through wearable technology: A systematic review.Digital healthReview
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMobile phone apps for monitoring and promoting physical activity (PA) are extremely popular among adults. Devices, such as heart rate monitors or sports watches (HRMs/SWs) that work with these apps are at sufficiently low costs to be available through the commercial markets. Studies have reported an increase in PA levels among adults with devices; however, it is unknown whether the phenomena are similar during early adolescence. At a time when adolescents start to develop their own sense of independence and build friendship, the ease of smartphone availability in developed countries needs to be investigated in important health promoting behaviors such as PA.
objectiveThe objective of this study was to investigate the ownership and usage of PA trackers (apps and HRM/SW) among adolescents in a national representative sample and to examine the association between use of devices and PA levels.
methodsThe Finnish school-aged physical activity (SPA) study consisted of 4575 adolescents, aged 11-, 13-, and 15-years, who took part in a web-based questionnaire during school time about PA behaviors between April and May 2016. Binary logistic regression analyses were used to test the associations between moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and devices, after controlling for gender, age, disability, and family affluence.
resultsPA tracking devices have been categorized into two types, which are accessible to adolescents: (1) apps and (2) HRM/SW. Half the adolescents (2351/4467; 52.63%) own apps for monitoring PA, yet 16.12% (720/4467) report using apps. Fewer adolescents (782/4413; 17.72%) own HRM/SW and 9.25% (408/4413) use HRM/SW. In this study, users of HRM/SW were 2.09 times (95% CI 1.64-2.67), whereas users of apps were 1.4 times (95% CI 1.15-1.74) more likely to meet PA recommendations of daily MVPA for at least 60 min compared with adolescents without HRM/SW or without apps.
conclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first study that describes the situation in Finland with adolescents using PA trackers and its association with PA levels. Implications of the use of apps and HRM/SW by adolescents are discussed.
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