• The Journal of Information Systems
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.1-24
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• 2020

Purpose An increase in the number of fitness apps across the world is a testament to the growing interest in health. As focus on medical services shifted from treatment to prevention, this type of app plays an essential role in promoting one's health and exercise management. Yet little has been known about practical effects of fitness apps in existing literature thus this study searches for factors that affect daily use of fitness apps and examine the relationship between app usage and exercise patterns. Design/methodology/approach This study surveyed people who used Cashwalk, the pedometer app for a minimum of a week to analyze reasons why they used the app. Particpants' exercise patterns were also recorded. By examining survey results of fitness app users and developing a research model based on the Customer Value Theory, this study provides real-life factors to the fitness and smart health care industry that will adopt a proactive lifestyle pattern. Findings Empirical analysis proved properties such as the complexity of fitness apps, monetary rewards, exercise monitoring and the enjoyment of using fitness apps contribute to using fitness apps on a daily basis. Furthermore, more daily use of fitness apps was shown to have a greater impact on exercise. This study also confirmed that social comparison does not affect the daily use of fitness apps and the amount of exercise, and the habitual walking was proved to directly affect the amount of exercise.

• International Journal of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.136-148
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• 2024

In recent years, public attention to health and wellness issues has increased. The integration of smart fitness hardware and innovative technologies have made the development of smart fitness a trend. The number of fitness applications in the market has surged, and demand for an optimal experience is increasingly high. This study selects Sweatcoin, Home Workout, Six Pack in 30 Days, and Fitness Coach & Diet as research subjects from the top ten global mobile health and fitness apps in 2022 based on download rankings. The research is based on eight gamification elements: motivation, challenge, achievement, relationships, sharing, reward, level, and competition, identified through preliminary studies. We distributed a total of 166 questionnaires to users and collected 163 valid responses for data analysis. The Kano Model was used to study the desires of fitness enthusiasts using fitness apps. To reduce the limitations of the research results, the Better-Worse Method was employed for satisfaction index analysis. Based on the final analysis, we propose suggestions for improvement for the four fitness apps to better meet user needs and create a more attractive and efficient application experience.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.327-339
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• 2015

The present study explored how 1) individuals' perception about attributes of exercise/fitness apps and 2) their motivation for exercise/fitness behaviors influence perceived usefulness and usage of the apps. A survey of 323 males and females in their 20's and 30's revealed that attributes of apps that satisfy their basic psychological needs are crucial in promoting perceived usefulness and usage of the apps. Participants were more likely to perceive exercise/fitness apps useful as they perceive them having more attributes related to autonomy and competence. The perception regarding relatedness attributes did not have the main effect on perceived usefulness but showed an interaction effect with relative autonomous motivation. This convergence study which examined health apps from the perspectives of psychology and public health provides practical implications to development and evaluation of health apps.

• International Journal of Contents
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.1-8
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• 2014

In this paper, we collect and analyze the status of mobile phone applications (hereafter apps) in the healthcare and fitness category of the Apple iTunes App Store and Google Play Store. We determine the number of apps and analyze statistical aspects such as classifications, age rating, fees, and user evaluation of the popular items. As of September 30, 2013, there were 236 popular apps available from iTunes. Google Play offered 720 apps. We discover that apps for healthcare and fitness are diverse. Apps for physical exercise have the greatest popularity. The proportions of apps that are suitable for all ages among the Google and iTunes popular apps are 55.8% and 89.4%, respectively. The user evaluation of apps in iTunes is relatively less positive. We determine that the proportion of paid apps to free apps in Google is higher than that of the apps in iTunes. We perform hypothesis tests and find statistically significant differences in age rating and perceived satisfaction between the apps of the Apple iTunes App Store and Google Play Store. However, we find no meaningful differences in the classification and price of the apps between the two app stores. We perform hypothesis tests to verify the differences in age rating and perceived satisfaction between the paid and free apps within and across the Google Play Store and iTunes App Store. There are statistically significant differences in the age rating between the paid and free apps in the Google play store, between the Google free and iTunes free apps, between the Google paid and iTunes paid apps, between the Google free and iTunes paid apps, and between the Google paid and iTunes free apps. There are statistically significant differences in the perceived satisfaction between the Google free and iTunes free apps, between the Google paid and iTunes paid apps, between the Google free and iTunes paid apps, and between the Google paid and iTunes free apps.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.1-18
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• 2022

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to take fitness APP users as the research object from the perspective of user experience to explore the influence of fitness APP user experience factors on product trust and purchase intention. Design/methodology/approach - The study collected data on 275 customers who had experience buying and using fitness apps. To test the hypothesis, SPSS 27.0 and AMOS 26.0 statistical packages were used based on the collected data. Findings - The results showed that the user experience factors (usefulness, ease to use, enjoyment, interaction) of fitness APP and the relationship between product trust had a positive effect, and product trust had a positive effect on purchase intention. In addition, exercise experience, showed a moderating effect in the relationship between the usefulness, easy to use of user experience and product trust. Research implications or Originality - This study provided research model among user experience factors of fitness APP, product trust and purchase intention. This study can help sports and fitness companies with product optimization and marketing decisions.

• Journal of Korea Game Society
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.155-164
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• 2017

This study conducted to analyze the difference of perceived benefits, psychological well-being, exercise application attachment, and perceived exercise achievement according to the message frame provided in the mobile fitness game. Repeated Measure Design and Playtest methodologies were used for this research. As a result, when gain messages were shown, all factors were higher than the case of showing loss message. The results of this study emphasize that when persuasion messages need to be presented through a health functional game, gain messages can be more effectively delivered to the users of health functional game than loss messages.

• The Journal of Information Systems
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.25-42
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• 2018

Purpose The purpose of this study focused on adopting production systems in cognitive psychology to improve the extraction process of persuasive design characteristics for healthcare-related mobile applications. Design/Methodology/Approach A research approach with four stages was developed. We developed and updated the evaluation guideline for persuasive design characteristics (PDC). We tried to summarize and analyze each of 28 PDC and prepared related production rules. Verification process for both guideline approach and production system approach were performed. Top one hundred apps from both medical category and health and Fitness category were selected and evaluated by two approaches. By comparing the results of the two approaches, we tried to explain the improvement and reliability of introducing the production system in the PDC extraction process. Findings Based on the updated guideline for healthcare-related mobile applications, a production system in cognitive psychology was developed. By comparing the PDC extraction results by two approaches, production system showed a better improvement for evaluation precision and efficiency for decision-making process. The findings of this study can be used for researchers and app developers to apply production system to analyze, evaluate, and develop better healthcare-related apps with persuasion.