Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36078395›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2022

Uncovering the Heterogeneity in Fitness App Use: A Latent Class Analysis of Chinese Users.

Li Crystal Jiang, Mengru Sun, Guanxiong Huang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Inequalities in Exclusively Mobile Interventions Targeting Weight-Related Behaviors: Systematic Review of Observational Studies.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Factors Influencing Use of Fitness Apps by Adults under Influence of COVID-19.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Li Crystal JiangDepartment of Media and Communication, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.ORCID 0000-0002-0515-2594
Mengru SunCollege of Media and International Culture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.ORCID 0000-0002-8444-2126
Guanxiong HuangDepartment of Media and Communication, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.ORCID 0000-0002-8588-1454

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This study examines fitness app use patterns and their correlates among Chinese users from the perspectives of uses and gratification theory and self-determination theory. Our sample comprised 632 users of WeRun, the fitness plugin of WeChat, the largest Chinese mobile social networking app; participants completed an online survey and provided self-tracked physical activity data, which were subjected to latent class analysis. Based on the four-class latent class model (which yielded the best model fit and the most interpretable results), 30.5%, 27.5%, 24.7%, and 17.3% of the users were categorized as light users, reward-oriented users, lifestyle-oriented users, and interaction-oriented users, respectively. Moreover, class membership was associated with gender, age, education, income, life satisfaction, autonomy, and platform-based motivations. There is a significant heterogeneity in fitness app use and exercise behaviors. Platform-based motivations and autonomy are important classification factors, as users are looking for specific kinds of gratification from their use of fitness apps. Demographics and individual characteristics are also explanatory factors for class membership. The study findings suggest that fitness app designers should segment users based on motivation and gratification.

Indexed as

Mobile ApplicationsChinaExerciseHumansLatent Class AnalysisSurveys and Questionnairesfitness applatent class analysismotivationphysical activityself-determinationWeRun

Identifiers

PMID36078395
PMCPMC9518310

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.