scholarly journals The Use of Sports Apps for Engaging in Physical Activity

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (121) ◽  
pp. 28-33
Author(s):  
Silvija Baubonytė ◽  
Karolina Deliautaitė ◽  
Kristina Mejerytė Narkevičienė ◽  
Irena Valantinė

Background. As healthy lifestyle and physical activity become more relevant, sports apps are receiving more attention as one of the most convenient tools for monitoring one’s physical condition. While activity-related apps are thought to be effective tools for health care and management, there is still a lack of information on the key factors that motivate individuals to download and use them. Seeing the large selection of different sports apps with similar functions, it can be assumed that other factors, such as certain characteristics of the apps or the user’s characteristics can also influence the consumer’s choice. Methods. The study included 410 physically active subjects who were using sports apps (137 men and 273 women). To establish sports app usage, the questionnaire developed by Ha, Kang, and Ha (2015) was used.  The statistical analysis of the data was performed using SPSS. Results.  In the analysis of different factors, the perception of sports apps was assessed the most positively. All these factors were more likely to be assessed positively by women than by men (p ≤ .05). The strongest correlations with intentions were found between perceptions of sports apps (enjoyment, ease of use, usefulness, reliability) (r > .5, p ≤ .01) while with other variables correlations were slightly lower.   Conclusions. Women are more positive about the use of sports apps, in their perceptions and their connection to the smart device. Intentions to use sports apps are most influenced by perceptions of sports apps and personal innovativeness, which not only directly affects the intentions themselves, but also influences the perceptions that influence the intentions. Keywords: smartphones, smart devices, sports involvement, innovation, perception.

Author(s):  
Robert Hurling ◽  
Marco De Boni ◽  
Alannah Richardson

The authors compared user evaluation of a text based dialogue system with a simple pick list for the same task. The authors matched the systems in terms of key factors, such as design for Usability, and took into account individual differences between participants that might have influenced their perception, such as Locus of Control, Experience and Personality. They found participants rated the text based dialogue system as being more informative, more credible, less frustrating and more persuasive than the simple pick list system. Participants’ ratings were dependent on their Personality, Locus of Control and reported level of physical activity. Participants did not differentiate between the systems in terms of their ease of use, indicating the other observed differences were not due to a simple difference in Usability. This study demonstrated the benefits of including automated dialogue in a system designed to help people find solutions for their exercise barriers. Further work is required to establish in what other situations dialogue provides a benefit.


Electronics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Randazzo ◽  
Jacopo Ferretti ◽  
Eros Pasero

Smart devices are more and more present in every aspect of everyday life. From smartphones, which are now like mini-computers, through systems for monitoring sleep or fatigue, to specific sensors for the recording of vital parameters. A particular class of the latter regards health monitoring. Indeed, through the use of such devices, several vital parameters can be acquired and automatically monitored, even remotely. This paper presents the second generation of VITAL-ECG, a smart device designed to monitor the most important vital parameters as a “one touch” device, anywhere, at low cost. It is a wearable device that coupled with a mobile app can track bio-parameters such as: electrocardiogram, SpO2, skin temperature, and physical activity of the patient. Even if it not yet a medical device, a comprehensive comparison with a golden standard electrocardiograph is presented to demonstrate the quality of the recorded signals and the validity of the proposed approach.


2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 282-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Antonio Moreno-Murcia ◽  
Pedro Hellín ◽  
David González-Cutre ◽  
Celestina Martínez-Galindo

The purpose of this study was to test an explanatory model of the relationships between physical self-concept and some healthy habits. A sample of 472 adolescents aged 16 to 20 answered different questionnaires assessing physical self-concept, physical activity, intention to be physically active and consumption of alcohol and tobacco. The results of the structural equation model showed that perceived sport competence positively correlated with current physical activity. Body attractiveness positively correlated with physical activity in boys and negatively in girls. Current physical activity positively correlated with the intention to be physically active in the future and negatively with the consumption of alcohol and tobacco. Nevertheless, this last relationship was only significant in boys. The results are discussed in connection with the promotion of healthy lifestyle guidelines among adolescents. This model shows the importance of physical self-concept for engaging in physical activity in adolescence. It also suggests that physical activity is associated with the intention to continue being physically active and with healthy lifestyle habits.


2007 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 939-948
Author(s):  
Massimo Miglioretti ◽  
Gabriella Pravettoni

This study investigated the relationship of self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, and risk perception on intention to increase physical activity in a group of adolescents. The 833 participants ( M age = 16.2 yr., SD =1.5) completed a Survey of Health Behavior anonymously. 88% of the sample said that they engaged in physical activity; 42.1% said that they spent 4 hours per week exercising. Boys appeared to be more active than girls. The results indicated self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, and risk perception as key factors in explaining behavioural intention in teenagers. As regards outcome expectancies, it seems that adolescents are effectively motivated by objectives which affect them closely, such as maintaining the right weight, and which may influence their everyday life.


Author(s):  
Rubén Trigueros ◽  
Adolfo J. Cangas ◽  
José M. Aguilar-Parra ◽  
Joaquín F. Álvarez ◽  
Alexandre García-Más

Despite the multiple benefits associated with practicing physical activity regularly, less than 20% of the population do it on a daily basis. Physical education classes could contribute, during childhood and adolescence, to consolidating adherence to healthy lifestyle habits. The present study involved 606 secondary school students between the ages of 13 and 19. We analysed the relationships between the perception of psychological control and support for autonomy, the satisfaction and frustration of psychological needs, mind-wandering and mindfulness, positive and negative emotions, motivation towards physical education classes, physical activity and the intention to be physically active—all through a structural equation model, which presented acceptable goodness-of-fit indices. The results showed that students who feel more autonomous see that their psychological needs are met and feel emotionally positive; this will result in the development of autonomous motivation towards physical education classes and physical activity that, in turn, could lead to a greater intention to be physically active.


Author(s):  
Donald L. Amoroso ◽  
Ricardo Lim

In this chapter, the authors study factors such as ease of use and personal innovativeness in order to understand the consumer adoption of mobile technologies in the Philippines in order to build on existing adoption theories for academics and make recommendations to practitioners. The research questions include: (1) What key factors drive adoption of mobile technologies by Filipino consumers? (2) How are Filipino mobile consumers personally innovative in their use of mobile technologies? The authors surveyed 725 mobile Filipino consumers. The resulting linear regression model shows a significant amount of variance explained for behavioral intention to use mobile applications. Personal innovation had a strong statistical impact on both attitude toward using and behavioral intention to use.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-91
Author(s):  
A. Tyrańska-Fobke ◽  
A. Konieczna ◽  
A. Kuich ◽  
A. Janaszczyk ◽  
K. Leoniuk

Purpose: To assess the opinions of people, using, or familiar with Chodakowska’s method, on her marketing strategy and public relations. Materials and methods: The research was conducted between the 31st of March and the 4th of April 2014. A questionnaire, consisting of 31 questions was created and uploaded at website. All internet users, interested in Chodakowska’s method, were able to take part in the research. The study group consisted of 1005 respondents. Results; The vast majority of respondents familiar in any way with Chodakowska used her workout programs. The Chi-squared test indicated statistically significant dependency between the place of residence and using Chodakowska’s workout programs. Among the ways of getting to know Chodakowska’s workout programs, friends proved to be the most common and the official Facebook fan page took second place. Among all respondents, who use the workout programs have never used any program, before they learned about Chodakowska and her method. The majority of respondents declare that the popularity of Chodakowska is due to the free of charge YouTube movies, then the regularly updated Facebook fan page, building a community of physically active people. Conclusions: The results of the study it is possible to state that using a customized approach and creating a positive image in relations with society can be adopted in promoting physical activity and a healthy diet. In addition, one can state that when developing future obesity prevention campaigns, the achievements and experience of Chodakowska should be taken into account.


2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanna Tuvemo Johnson ◽  
Cathrin Martin ◽  
Elisabeth Anens ◽  
Ann-Christin Johansson ◽  
Karin Hellström

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe older adults’ opinions regarding actions to prevent falls and to analyze differences in the opinions of highly versus less physically active older adults. An open-ended question was answered by 262 individuals aged 75 to 98 years living in the community. The answers were analyzed using qualitative content analysis, and differences in the categories were compared between highly and less physically active persons. Physical activity was measured according to a five-level scale. The content analysis resulted in eight categories: assistive devices, avoiding hazards, behavioral adaptive strategies, being physically active, healthy lifestyle, indoor modifications, outdoor modifications, and seeking assistance. Behavioral adaptive strategies were mentioned to a greater extent by highly active people, and indoor modifications were more often mentioned by less active older adults. Support for active self-directed behavioral strategies might be important for fall prevention among less physically active older adults.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
J D Ferreira ◽  
A R Sá

Abstract Background A healthy lifestyle should be followed since childhood. To do so a healthy diet and to be physically active are mandatory. To measure and improve that the School Health Project “Com Peso e Medida” was applied throughout schools from the ARS Centro region. Methods In the context of School Health questionnaires were given out to school children. The questions pertained to health habit. Questions about socioeconomic characteristics were also included. 464 responses were collected. The responses were collected in a database in MS Excel. The database was then run in SPSS to provide a statistical analysis. Results All the students were attending the 5th grade. Median age was 10 years old. There was a similar sex distribution with 50.6% males. Mother education was higher than fathers with 24.7% and 15.7% college education respectively. There was a significative association between the parents' education degree (p < 0.01). In terms of meal frequency, the students had a median of 5 meals a day. 93.3% of them had breakfast every day, 66.4% had a morning snack, 83.4% had an afternoon snack and 30.2% had a late-night snack. Considering the ingredients consumed daily only 41.7% ate the recommended amount of daily vegetables and 30.4% the daily amount of fruit. On a different note 28.6% ate candies more than once a week, and 41.5% drank soft drinks more than once a week. Questions about the physical activity habits revealed that 50.8% watched more than one hour of television every day and 29.1% played videogames more than one hour. 39.2% had no sport activity outside school. There was a positive association between the mother education level and sports practice (p < 0.01) and fruit consumption (p = 0.19). Conclusions A healthy diet and regular physical activity are cornerstones in a Health promoting lifestyle. With this study was possible to ascertain the lifestyle of young schoolchildren. With those results it's possible to set futures measures to best improve health. Key messages Healthy habits should be developed since early on to give way to a healthy life. To better prepare the future we need to know what health choices the children are taking today.


2014 ◽  
Vol 124 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dariusz Boguszewski ◽  
Jakub Grzegorz Adamczyk ◽  
Sylwia Kowalska ◽  
Judyta Sado-Drapała ◽  
Monika Lewandowska ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction. In the face of the more and more general threat with civilization diseases the promotion of healthy lifestyle should be one of main activities of educational and medical institutions. Aim. The aim of the work was comparison of chosen elements of healthy lifestyle between the young physically active women and non-sports ones. Material and methods. The survey was carried out on 156 women aged 18-35 years, divided into two groups. Persons physically active were classified into Group 1 (n=72), whereas into Group 2 - non-active ones (n=84). The investigative tool was the Inventory of Health-Related Behaviours by Juczyński (where health-related behaviours were rated in four categories: proper nutrition habits, prophylaxis behaviours, and positive attitude and health practices). Differences between the data were qualified with the t-student test for independent groups; level p≤0.05 was accepted as of minimum significance. Results. The results show that physically active persons pay greater attention to healthy lifestyle than non-sports people. The general indicator of health-related behaviours was noticeably higher in Group 1 (p=0.007). Greatest differences (p=0.008) were noted within the range of nutritional habits, and the least significant ones - in positive attitude (p=0.546). Conclusion. The positive influence of the physical activity on other aspects of the healthy lifestyle has been proven. It seems legitimate to promote physical activity among women of every age


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