Introduction Mobile exercise apps for smartphones have been used with intervention measures to increase physical activity. This study aimed to identify and evaluate the quality of fitness apps for smartphones that were used to increase the level of physical activity and improve the overall health of healthy adults. Methods The systematic review was performed in five electronic databases EMBASE, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Academic Research Premier e Cochrane Reviews, and Trials. The search terms were grouped into three categories according to the principles of population, intervention, comparison, and outcomes. The following includes examples of the group terms: population (healthy adults), intervention (smartphone apps), and outcomes (physical activity level). Results Of the 3924 potential articles, 74 were read for full-text analysis. Only seven studies were included in the review. The methodological evaluation of the studies and the apps’ quality showed that only one study and one app were evaluated with good quality. All studies used a type of application to improve the level of physical activity (measured by the number of daily steps), reporting an increase and improvement in some general health indices (calorie expenditure, weight, BMI) in healthy adults, regardless of frequency and duration of intervention and applications. Conclusion We cannot say that the use of smartphone applications improves the level of physical activity and general health. The low methodological quality of the studies and the possibility to evaluate the applications used (Mars Scale) due to the lack of technical standardization presented in the studies, despite the app used showing positive results in all studies.

BACKGROUND Smartphone use has become common among the population, and new apps are emerging for users to practice physical activity with the aid of virtual technology. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to identify and evaluate the effect of interventions that use smartphone exercise apps to increase the level of physical activity and improve the overall health of users. METHODS A search was conducted in five electronic databases (EMBASE, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Academic Research Premier and Cochrane Reviews and Trials). A PICO strategy was used to research question construction (Population- healthy adults, intervention (smartphone apps), and outcomes (physical activity level).Randomized and non-randomized controlled trials with healthy individuals of both sexes aged 18 years old and older were included. The outcomes assessed were physical activity levels, improvement in general health rates as a function of the apps used. RESULTS Out of the 3924 potential articles, 74 were read for full text analysis. Only seven studies were included in the review. All included studies demonstrated that the use of smartphone apps are effective in increasing the level of physical activity and improving some general health indices (calorie expenditure, weight, BMI.) in healthy adults, regardless of the duration and frequency of intervention, and the apps used. The methodological evaluation of the studies, showed thatonly one demonstrated good quality. CONCLUSIONS Exercise apps increase the level of physical activity and improve general health in healthy adults, although most studies were classified as low methodological quality.The apps evaluated did not have technical standardization points on how to be described in the studies, so that we can evaluate both the effect of the intervention and the apps used in the studies.