Tech tools like Fitbits and mobile phone apps do improve our health after all, experts say
Activity trackers help users eat better, exercise more, and reduce smoking and drinking
PEOPLE are more likely to adopt a healthy lifestyle if they use mobile phone apps and wearable technology such as Fitbits, experts says.
They work by setting users short-term goals or challenges and by sending timely reminders that a task should be done.
This may include a target to reach 10,000 steps in a day or getting up from your desk at work and moving around every hour.
Researchers reviewed 224 previous studies conducted on generally healthy adults, including some in the UK, published between 1990 and 2013.
They evaluated the effect of using the internet, mobile phones, personal sensors or stand-alone computer software to inspire behavioural changes.
They found the activity trackers help users improve diet, increase exercise and lose weight, and stop or reduce tobacco and alcohol use.
Experts say it means they are also likely to reduce the risk of developing diseases such cancer, stroke, heart disease and dementia, which are linked to unhealthy lifestyles.
Lead author Ashkan Afshin of the University of Washington in Seattle, US, said: “Our findings suggest use of these technologies should be greatly expanded.”
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Most of the reviewed studies only tracked participants’ progress for up to six months or a year, meaning it is impossible to say if the benefits were long-lasting.
Additional benefits were sometimes realised when users had face-to-face sessions with a healthcare professional, for example when they were trying to quit smoking.
The study is published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.