Does feedback from activity trackers influence physical activity? Evidence from a randomized controlled trial
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Despite their popularity of Physical Activity (PA) tracking devices, studies rigorously examining the efficacy of wearables and feedback effect independent of other behavioral and educational interventions in promoting PA have been limited.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the causal and independent effect of feedback provided by a commercial activity tracker.
METHODS
We designed an experimental longitudinal study in which we asked our study participants to wear: (1) a device that provided feedback for 7-consecutive days; (2) a device that provided no feedback for 7 consecutive day; (3) both devices for 2 consecutive days. We randomized half the sample to either wear the feedback device or the non-feedback device for the first 7 days. At the end of each study day, participants also completed a short survey online where they shared and reported their own experience participating in the study.
RESULTS
We find that participants accumulated an additional 530 steps in a given day when they wore Fitbit, which provided feedback, compared to a day when they wore GENEActiv, which didn’t provide feedback (P < .001). Given that study participants accumulated 7,560 steps/day on average, the increase in PA due to feedback represented a 7% increase in daily PA.
CONCLUSIONS
The use of wrist-worn PA trackers providing feedback as a standalone intervention tool is effective in increasing daily PA of older US adults aged 50 and above. Wearables-measured PA together with self-reports of PA…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Challenges and opportunities with drug repurposing: finding strategies to find alternative uses of therapeutics
- Challenges in Chagas Disease Drug Development
- T Cell Specificity: A Great Challenge in Chagas Disease
- Benznidazole treatment leads to DNA damage in Trypanosoma cruzi and the persistence of rare widely dispersed non-replicative amastigotes in mice
- Rapid Molecular Detection of Terbinafine-resistant Dermatophytes
- Identifying novel drugs with new modes of action for neglected tropical fungal skin diseases (fungal skinNTDs) using an Open Source Drug discovery approach
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.