Trial reportJMIR mHealth and uHealth2020
The Effect of Smartphone Apps Versus Supervised Exercise on Physical Activity, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, and Body Composition Among Individuals With Mild-to-Moderate Mobility Disability: Randomized Controlled Trial.
Trial report in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Digital versus nondigital behavioral interventions on cardiovascular risk reduction: systematic review and meta-analysis.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of physical activity monitors in adults: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2022Pooled it
- Trial
- Smartphone-Assisted High-Intensity Interval Training in Inflammatory Rheumatic Disease Patients: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2021Trial
- Latent class growth modelling for the evaluation of intervention outcomes: example from a physical activity intervention.Journal of behavioral medicine · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Improved dietary intake and readiness among United States Navy Future Sailors following mobile health application use.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Article
- Enhancing Behavioural Changes: A Narrative Review on the Effectiveness of a Multifactorial APP-Based Intervention Integrating Physical Activity.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Review
- Tendencies and characteristics of public fitness behavior in the digital era: an Internet ethnography study based on the K Community in China.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Effectiveness of digital health interventions to increase cardiorespiratory fitness: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Digital healthReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAdequate levels of physical activity (PA) and good cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) are associated with profound health benefits for individuals with mobility disability (MD). Despite the vast amount of research published in the field of PA interventions, little attention has been given to individuals with MD.
objectiveThe aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of an app-based versus a supervised exercise and health coaching program to support adults with MD to increase levels of PA, CRF, and improve body composition.
methodsParticipants with self-perceived MD, aged 18 to 45 years, were included in this 12-week parallel-group randomized controlled trial and allocated at random to an app-based intervention, using commercially available apps-the Swedish Military training app (FMTK), the Acupedo walking app, and the LogMyFood food photography app-or a supervised exercise and health coaching intervention, including 1 weekly supervised exercise session and healthy lifestyle coaching. The primary outcome was the level of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) measured with accelerometers. Secondary outcomes included CRF measured by a submaximal test performed on a stationary bicycle and body composition measured by bioelectrical impedance. All outcomes were measured at baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks. Linear mixed-effect models were used to assess the between-group differences, as well as the within-group changes through time, in each intervention group.
resultsA total of 110 participants with MD were randomized to an app-based intervention (n=55) or a supervised exercise and health intervention (n=55). The mean age of participants was 34.9 years (SD 6.1), and 81.8% (90/110) of the participants were women. CRF showed a moderate increase in both groups after 12 weeks-1.07 (95% CI -0.14 to 2.27) mL/kg/min increase in the app-based group and 1.76 (95% CI 0.70 to 2.83) mLkg/min increase in the supervised exercise group. However, the intention-to-treat analysis showed no significant differences between the groups in MVPA or CRF after 12 weeks. Waist circumference was significantly lower in the app-based intervention group.
conclusionsCommercially available apps increased levels of CRF and improved body composition over 12 weeks to the same extent as supervised exercise sessions, showing that both are equally effective. However, neither the app-based intervention nor the supervised exercise intervention increased MVPA.
trial registrationInternational Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN): 22387524; http://isrctn.com/ISRCTN22387524.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.