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Using smartphones to maintain engagement of youth participation in 8‐week walking program
Author(s) -
Hongu Nobuko,
Pope Benjamin T.,
Martinez Cathy L.,
Merchant Nirav C.,
Misner Scottie L.,
Roe Denise J.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.36.4
Subject(s) - phone , physical activity , mobile phone , advertising , psychology , gerontology , physical therapy , medicine , computer science , business , telecommunications , philosophy , linguistics
With the aim of developing a smartphone walking program application and increasing physical activity in youth, we evaluated participation in an 8‐week online walking program, Walk Across Arizona (the University of Arizona, Cooperative Extension). Youth register as teams and keep a log of miles walked on a website during the program period. The website includes instant scoreboard updates of total walking miles for each team. Forty‐nine youth (age 11–14 yrs, 20 girls, 29 boys) participated and were divided into 2 groups: mobile phone (n=30) and website (n=19). All youth were given pedometers and received nutrition and physical activity newsletters via mobile phone or website, depending on their group. Youth who reported their walking miles using mobile phones walked more than youth who reported their miles on the website (median of 29.7 vs. 12.6 miles; p =0.12). Youth in the mobile phone group reported their walking miles more frequently than the website group (80% vs. 58%; p=0.10). The results suggest that using a smartphone application as an additional delivery method to a website‐delivered walking program should be further evaluated as a means of encouraging youth participation. Funding Source: USDA