Smartphone Apps and Wearables for Health Parameters in Young Adulthood: Cross-Sectional Study

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Health Behavior
• Mobile Health Interventions

Background:

• Innovative interventions are crucial for promoting healthy lifestyles among young adults.
• Mobile health (mHealth), including apps and wearables, offers a versatile platform for health monitoring and behavior change.
• Early adoption of technology can foster lifelong healthy habits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate young adults' (18-26 years) use of apps and wearables for health monitoring.
• To examine usage patterns, identify popular devices/apps, and most monitored health variables.
• To evaluate desired characteristics and functions of health-focused apps and wearables.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study utilizing an anonymous web survey across Italy.
• Survey covered demographics, app/wearable use for physical activity, diet, and mental health, and user preferences.
• Inclusion criteria required participants to be young adults using at least one app or wearable for health monitoring.

Main Results:

• Physical activity was the most commonly monitored domain (46.2%) using apps or wearables.
• Wearables were predominantly used daily, especially for physical activity tracking.
• User-friendliness, free content access, and loading speed were identified as crucial app/wearable characteristics.

Conclusions:

• Italian young adults, especially women, favor wearables for daily health tracking, with physical activity being the primary focus.
• Current usage leans towards monitoring rather than active health improvement.
• App and wearable design should prioritize user-friendliness, accessibility, and performance to enhance engagement.