Do technologies commercialized to support physical activity relate to physical activity levels of emerging adults?

Background: Healthy lifestyle technologies (HLT), including i) exergaming systems; ii) fitness tracking wearables; iii) fitness apps; iv) interactive exercise equipment; v) smart apparel; and vi) heart rate monitors are now highly commercialized. It is unclear whether their volitional use promotes participation in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA).

Purpose: We aimed to document associations between HLT use and: 1) the odds of participating in some MVPA and 2) MVPA levels among emerging adults reporting some MVPA.

Methods: We used data from cycles 25, 26 and 27 of the Monitoring Activities of Teenagers to Comprehend Their Habits (MATCH) longitudinal study, when participants were 20, 21 and 22 years, respectively. Participants reported their HLT use and their level of MVPA (IPAQ) at every cycle. Because a large proportion of participants reported no MVPA, we used a two-part general estimating equation approach to assess 1) the association between HLT use and the likelihood of reporting some MVPA (logistic function), and 2) if HLT use is associated with different MVPA level among participants reporting some MVPA (gamma distribution).

Results: All 509 participants with the required data were retained. Approximately 40% of participants reported using HLT. The most used HLT were fitness trackers (30%), followed by fitness apps (9%), interactive equipment (9%), heart rate monitors (7%), smart apparel (5%), and exergaming (4%). Whereas HLT use was not associated with the odds of reporting some MVPA (OR, 95% CI: 1.2, 0.8-1.7), higher levels of MVPA were reported by men using at least one HLT and women who used at least two HLTs (p < 0.01).

Conclusions: Although HLT users report higher MVPA than non-users, the use of HLT is not associated with a different likelihood of taking part in MVPA.

Practical implications: The volitional use of HLT does not clearly contribute to an uptake in MVPA.