Functions of Smartphone Apps and Wearable Devices Promoting Physical Activity: Six-Month Longitudinal Study on Japanese-Speaking Adults.

Background: Smartphone apps and wearable activity trackers are increasingly recognized for their potential to promote physical activity (PA). While studies suggest that the use of commercial mobile health tools is associated with higher PA levels, most existing evidence is cross-sectional, leaving a gap in longitudinal data.

Objective: This study aims to identify app-use patterns that are prospectively associated with increases in and maintenance of PA. The primary objective was to test whether continued app use is linked to adherence to the recommended PA levels (ie, 23 metabolic equivalent task [MET] hours per week for adults or 10 MET hours/week for individuals aged >65 years) during a follow-up assessment. The secondary objective was to explore which functions and features of PA apps predict changes in PA levels.

Methods: A 2-wave longitudinal survey was conducted, with baseline and follow-up assessments separated by 6 months. A total of 20,573 Japanese-speaking online respondents participated in the baseline survey, and 16,286 (8289 women; mean age 54.7 years, SD 16.8 years) completed the follow-up. At both time points, participants reported their current PA levels and whether they were using any PA apps or wearables. Each participant was classified into 1 of the following 4 categories: continued users (those using apps at both the baseline and follow-up; n=2150, 13.20%), new users (those who started using apps before the follow-up; n=1462, 8.98%), discontinued users (those who had used apps at baseline but not at follow-up; n=1899, 11.66%), and continued nonusers (those who had never used apps; n=10,775, 66.16%).

Results: The majority of continued users (1538/2150, 71.53%) either improved or maintained their PA at the recommended levels over 6 months. By contrast, discontinued users experienced the largest reduction in PA (-7.95 MET hours/week on average), with more than half failing to meet the recommended levels at the follow-up (n=968, 50.97%). Analyses of individual app functions revealed that both energy analysis (eg, app calculation of daily energy expenditure) and journaling (eg, users manually entering notes and maintaining an exercise diary) were significantly associated with increases in PA. Specifically, energy analysis was associated with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.67 (95% CI 1.05-2.64, P=.03), and journaling had an OR of 1.76 (95% CI 1.12-2.76, P=.01). By contrast, individuals who maintained the recommended PA levels at the follow-up were more likely to use the goal setting (OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.21-2.48, P=.003), sleep information (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.03-2.68, P=.04), and blood pressure recording (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.10-3.83, P=.02) functions.

Conclusions: The results highlight the importance of continued app use in both increasing and maintaining PA levels. Different app functions may contribute to these outcomes, with features such as goal setting and journaling playing a key role in increasing PA, while functions related to overall health, such as sleep tracking and blood pressure monitoring, are more associated with maintaining high PA levels.