Do web-based competitions promote physical activity? Randomized controlled trial

Abstract

for their assistance with data collection and Create IT for the development of the study website. Highlights  This study isolates the unique effect of competition on physical activity promotion  Competition increased physical activity relative to self-monitoring and control  Competition effects mediated by motivation (identified, intrinsic, importance)

Your Personal Motivator is with You: A Systematic Review of Mobile Phone Applications Aiming at Increasing Physical Activity

“…From a vote counting perspective, of 14 quantitative studies, 12 versus 2 [19,134] studies showed significant, positive effects of feedback on PA [17,55,77,86,89,120,122,123,127,129,133,135]. The remaining 18 studies reported qualitative, supporting results.…”

“…While studies used one or another form of feedback and PA and differed in methodological designs, using either more (e.g., descriptive pre-post comparison) or less systematic approaches (e.g., self-monitored changes in PA levels, interview results), the results generally indicated that feedback increased PA [18,126]. These qualitative findings were complemented by quantitative results that found a significant increase in PA in groups that received feedback compared with those that did not [17,55,86,89,120,122,123,129]. Despite these mostly positive effects, some qualitative studies also indicated there can be negative or null effects.…”

“…Without motivation, users are unlikely to perform PA [86]. Previous PA studies demonstrated positive associations between motivation and PA behavior [87], and evidence exists that motivation may play a mediating role between app techniques and PA [88][89][90]. Motivation is a key element when designing apps [54].…”

“…Of the studies, 78.0% (n = 32/41) analyzed feedback, considered in a multitude of forms, with some studies using more than one form. Feedback was represented as bar graphs and a virtual map [98,[116][117][118][119][120]; audio feedback from virtual trainers [77]; illustrations through avatars [17,55,59,75,121,[123][124][125]127]; tailored text and email messages [94,[128][129][130]; real time, self-monitoring, receiving reminders, GPS tracking, tempo of music, and biofeedback [18,19,54,77,86,89,98,119,120,122,123,126,128,[131][132][133][134][135].…”

A cumulative meta‐analysis of the effects of individual physical activity interventions targeting healthy adults

“…In the time following the attainment of predetermined thresholds of sufficiency and stability for post‐intervention effects, we identified 23 further RCTs published to 2013. Although not included in the review, further intervention trials have been conducted and published since we ran our searches .…”