Football Fandom as a Platform for Digital Health Promotion and Behaviour Change: A Mobile App Case Study.

The last decade has seen a dramatic shift toward the study of fitness surveillance, thanks in part to the emergence of mobile health (mHealth) apps that allow users to track their health through a variety of data-driven insights. This study examines the adoption trends and community mediation of the mobile fitness application 'FanFit', a platform aimed at promoting physical activity among sports fans by creating a fitness app branded to their favourite team for health promotion. Our study looked at the impact of a specially designed mobile app (FanFit) as a digital health intervention for initiating and maintaining physical activity as part of football club membership.

On the body of the consumer: performance-seeking with wearables and health and fitness apps.

Contributing to critical digital health research and the sociology of health consumption, this study investigates the phenomenon of self-tracking and interpretation of consumer data via wearable technology and mobile fitness software applications (apps). It critically analyses qualitative data collected from members of running communities in the UK who are heavy users of apps and wearables. The study seeks to understand the meaning and practise of long-term use of apps and wearables targeted at consumers interested in tracking fitness, and the collection of personal health information over time.