Can self-monitoring mobile health apps reduce sedentary behavior? A randomized controlled trial.

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Behavioral Science
• Public Health

Background:

• Sedentary behavior is a growing public health concern.
• Mobile health (mHealth) apps offer potential interventions to reduce sedentary time.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of self-monitoring interventions via a mobile health app on reducing sedentary behavior.
• To assess both short-term (5 weeks) and long-term (13 weeks) effects.

Main Methods:

• A double-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted with 49 participants.
• Participants received either information only (control) or information plus real-time self-monitoring feedback via a smartphone app (intervention).
• Objective (OST, MSB, SB) and subjective (SST) sedentary behavior measures were collected.

Main Results:

• No significant short-term effects on any sedentary behavior measures were observed.
• In the long term, objective sedentary behavior (OST, MSB, SB) remained unchanged.
• Significant differences were found in subjective sedentary time (SST), indicating a potential change in perception.

Conclusions:

• Real-time self-monitoring feedback via smartphone apps does not significantly alter objective sedentary behavior.
• Providing only information about sedentary behavior may lead to a misperception of actual sedentary time.