Enhancing Exercise Performance Through Personal Competitiveness and Encouragement in Group Chats

For young women with little exercise habits, establishing exercise habits from a young age is important for preventing lifestyle-related diseases and frailty. This study aimed to examine effective methods for establishing walking as a daily habit and was conducted on 74 female students belonging to a junior college in Fukuoka Prefecture. The intervention was divided into three periods (2 weeks each) from July to December 2023. In the first period, participants wore a pedometer but were unable to check their step count, and in the second period, they were asked to go about their daily lives while being able to check their step count. In the third period, participants were divided into four groups, and a step count ranking and a footrace were displayed. The control group (living a normal life) was compared with a control group (living a normal life) that combined feedback and chat communication. Step counts were measured at the end of each period, and the average number of steps significantly increased from period 1 to period 2 (4,494±1,403 steps/day to 9,581±3,061 steps/day). Furthermore, there was a significant difference between Group 1 (P = 0.02) and Group 3 (P = 0.008) in the additional intervention in period 3. Based on the above, it is believed that an intervention that combines wearing a pedometer, step count rankings and feedback, and SNS is effective in encouraging continued exercise.