SynthesisInternational journal of environmental research and public health2020
Effectiveness of Mobile Applications Running on Smartphones to Promote Physical Activity: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 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
13 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Digital Health Interventions to Promote Physical Activity Among Adolescents: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Pooled it
- Impact of tele-exercise on quality of life, physical fitness, functional capacity and strength in different adult populations: a systematic review of clinical trials.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Trial
- Increasing Health Behaviors and Psychological Measures with an Adapted Version of the ACCELERATION Program.International journal of behavioral medicine · 2025Article
- Impact of heart rate variability-based exercise prescription: self-guided by technology and trainer-guided exercise in sedentary adults.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Article
- Smart Devices for Health and Wellness Applied to Tele-Exercise: An Overview of New Trends and Technologies Such as IoT and AI.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Evaluation of Digital Interventions for Physical Activity Promotion: Scoping Review.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2022Article
- The Cost-effectiveness of a Mass Media Campaign to Promote Smartphone Apps for Weight Loss: Updated Modeling Study.JMIR formative research · 2022Article
- Evaluation of Digital Interventions for Physical Activity Promotion: Protocol for a Scoping Review.JMIR research protocols · 2022Article
- Profile of adults users of smartphone applications for monitoring the level of physical activity and associated factors: A cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- Adherence and retention to the self-managed community-based Step Into Health program in Qatar (2012-2019).Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- Foresight for the Fitness Sector: Results from a European Delphi Study and Its Relevance in the Time of COVID-19.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Mobile applications reach a high number of individuals at low costs. This systematic review investigated the effectiveness of mobile application-based interventions to increase physical activity (PA) and self-efficacy and to decrease sedentarism. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs investigating the effect of PA interventions using an app compared to no intervention or traditional interventions were included. Pooled effects using the standardized mean difference (SMD) or the weighted mean difference (WMD) were calculated and the overall quality of the evidence was rated using the GRADE. Eleven studies were included. In the short term, pooled estimates showed a small and positive effect in the number of steps favoring interventions using a mobile app when compared with no interventions (WMD = 1579.04, 95%CI 454.04 to 2703.38) and with traditional interventions (WMD = 665.96, 95%CI 167.92 to 1164.00). For self-efficacy and at follow-up, results favoured traditional interventions (WMD = -8.20, 95%CI -14.25 to -2.15). Non-significant results were found for the remaining comparisons. The quality of the evidence ranged from very low to low. There is very low to low quality evidence that interventions using mobile apps running on smartphones, when combined with traditional interventions, are superior to traditional interventions in the short term. Further high-quality studies are required.
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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.