TY  - JOUR
AU  - Mateo-Orcajada, Adrián
AU  - Vaquero-Cristóbal, Raquel
AU  - Mota, Jorge
AU  - Abenza-Cano, Lucía
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/7/30
TI  - Physical Activity, Body Composition, and Fitness Variables in Adolescents After Periods of Mandatory, Promoted or Nonmandatory, Nonpromoted Use of Step Tracker Mobile Apps: Randomized Controlled Trial
JO  - JMIR Mhealth Uhealth
SP  - e51206
VL  - 12
KW  - body composition
KW  - detraining
KW  - new technologies
KW  - physical education subject
KW  - physical fitness
KW  - youth
AB  - Background: It is not known whether an intervention made mandatory as a physical education (PE) class assignment and aimed at promoting physical activity (PA) in adolescents can create a healthy walking habit, which would allow further improvements to be achieved after the mandatory and promoted intervention has been completed. Objective: The aims of this study were to (1) investigate whether, after a period of using a step tracker mobile app made mandatory and promoted as a PE class assignment, adolescents continue to use it when its use is no longer mandatory and promoted; (2) determine whether there are changes in the PA level, body composition, and fitness of adolescents when the use of the app is mandatory and promoted and when it is neither mandatory nor promoted; and (3) analyze whether the covariates maturity status, gender, and specific app used can have an influence. Methods: A total of 357 students in compulsory secondary education (age: mean 13.92, SD 1.91 y) participated in the study. A randomized controlled trial was conducted consisting of 2 consecutive 10-week interventions. Participants’ PA level, body composition, and fitness were measured at baseline (T1), after 10 weeks of mandatory and promoted app use (T2), and after 10 weeks of nonmandatory and nonpromoted app use (T3). Each participant in the experimental group (EG) used 1 of 4 selected step tracker mobile apps after school hours. Results: The results showed that when the use of the apps was neither mandatory nor promoted as a PE class assignment, only a few adolescents (18/216, 8.3%) continued the walking practice. After the mandatory and promoted intervention period (T1 vs T2), a decrease in the sum of 3 skinfolds (mean difference [MD] 1.679; P=.02) as well as improvements in the PA level (MD –0.170; P<.001), maximal oxygen uptake (MD –1.006; P<.001), countermovement jump test (MD –1.337; P=.04), curl-up test (MD –3.791; P<.001), and push-up test (MD –1.920; P<.001) in the EG were recorded. However, the changes between T1 and T2 were significantly greater in the EG than in the control group only in the PA level and curl-up test. Thus, when comparing the measurements taken between T1 and T3, no significant changes in body composition (P=.07) or fitness (P=.84) were observed between the EG and the control group. The covariates maturity status, gender, and specific app used showed a significant effect in most of the analyses performed. Conclusions: A period of mandatory and promoted use of step tracker mobile apps benefited the variables of body composition and fitness in adolescents but did not create a healthy walking habit in this population; therefore, when the use of these apps ceased to be mandatory and promoted, the effects obtained disappeared. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06164041; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06164041 
SN  - 2291-5222
UR  - https://mhealth.jmir.org/2024/1/e51206
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/51206
DO  - 10.2196/51206
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/51206
ER  -