Smartphone apps for tracking physical activity and sedentary behavior: A criterion validity review
Smartphone apps have been developed and investigated in validation studies for tracking human behavior such as physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB). However, as it is unclear whether these apps are valid for tracking PA and SB when compared to research-grade accelerometers, thus, this...
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Sociedade Brasileira de Atividade Física e Saúde
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Revista Brasileira de Atividade Física e Saúde |
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| Online Access: | https://rbafs.org.br/RBAFS/article/view/14844 |
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| author | Raul Cosme Ramos Prado Margarethe Thaisi Garro Knebel Evelyn Helena Corgosinho Ribeiro Inaian Pignatti Teixeira Jeffer Eidi Sasaki Luciano Vieira de Araújo Paulo Henrique Guerra Alex Antonio Florindo |
| author_facet | Raul Cosme Ramos Prado Margarethe Thaisi Garro Knebel Evelyn Helena Corgosinho Ribeiro Inaian Pignatti Teixeira Jeffer Eidi Sasaki Luciano Vieira de Araújo Paulo Henrique Guerra Alex Antonio Florindo |
| author_sort | Raul Cosme Ramos Prado |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Smartphone apps have been developed and investigated in validation studies for tracking human behavior such as physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB). However, as it is unclear whether these apps are valid for tracking PA and SB when compared to research-grade accelerometers, thus, this systematic review aimed to investigate the validity of smartphone apps for tracking PA and SB using the accelerometer as a criterion measure. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, SportDiscus, and Scopus databases. The mean percentage difference (MPD) was used to evaluate criterion validity. Ten studies (n = 662) validating different apps using ActiGraph accelerometers as criteria measure (six were conducted in free-living conditions, two in laboratory conditions, and two in both conditions) were included for analyses. While four apps were considered valid for tracking PA, six were not valid or fully valid. The MPD analysis revealed that apps provide no valid scores for tracking PA measures (MPD = -12.6 – 37.7). The scarcity of studies investigating SB limits the tracking of the results on this behavior. Study designs, smartphone location, and exercise intensity tend to affect the accuracy of apps tracking PA; thus, the current review showed conflicting results among studies. This review shows that it is not possible to generalize the valid scores for all apps.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8370adc9398d4f62a5476283a5661280 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1413-3482 2317-1634 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | Sociedade Brasileira de Atividade Física e Saúde |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revista Brasileira de Atividade Física e Saúde |
| spelling | doaj-art-8370adc9398d4f62a5476283a56612802025-01-03T01:01:03ZengSociedade Brasileira de Atividade Física e SaúdeRevista Brasileira de Atividade Física e Saúde1413-34822317-16342022-08-012710.12820/rbafs.27e0270Smartphone apps for tracking physical activity and sedentary behavior: A criterion validity reviewRaul Cosme Ramos Prado0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7895-6019Margarethe Thaisi Garro Knebel1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9905-9250Evelyn Helena Corgosinho Ribeiro2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3565-6830Inaian Pignatti Teixeira3Jeffer Eidi Sasaki4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2083-4104Luciano Vieira de Araújo5Paulo Henrique Guerra6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4239-0716Alex Antonio Florindo7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4429-0826University of Sao Paulo, Physical Activity Epidemiology Group, Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. University of São Paulo, School of Physical Education and Sport, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.University of Sao Paulo, Physical Activity Epidemiology Group, Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. University of Sao Paulo, Graduate Program in Nutrition in Public Health, School of Public Health, Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. University of Sao Paulo, Physical Activity Epidemiology Group, Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.University of Sao Paulo, Physical Activity Epidemiology Group, Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.Federal University of Triangulo Mineiro, Graduate Program in Physical Education, Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil.University of Sao Paulo, School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.University of Sao Paulo, Physical Activity Epidemiology Group, Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. Federal University of Fronteira Sul, Chapecó, Santa Catarina, Brazil.University of Sao Paulo, Physical Activity Epidemiology Group, Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. University of Sao Paulo, Graduate Program in Nutrition in Public Health, School of Public Health, Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. University of Sao Paulo, School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. Smartphone apps have been developed and investigated in validation studies for tracking human behavior such as physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB). However, as it is unclear whether these apps are valid for tracking PA and SB when compared to research-grade accelerometers, thus, this systematic review aimed to investigate the validity of smartphone apps for tracking PA and SB using the accelerometer as a criterion measure. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, SportDiscus, and Scopus databases. The mean percentage difference (MPD) was used to evaluate criterion validity. Ten studies (n = 662) validating different apps using ActiGraph accelerometers as criteria measure (six were conducted in free-living conditions, two in laboratory conditions, and two in both conditions) were included for analyses. While four apps were considered valid for tracking PA, six were not valid or fully valid. The MPD analysis revealed that apps provide no valid scores for tracking PA measures (MPD = -12.6 – 37.7). The scarcity of studies investigating SB limits the tracking of the results on this behavior. Study designs, smartphone location, and exercise intensity tend to affect the accuracy of apps tracking PA; thus, the current review showed conflicting results among studies. This review shows that it is not possible to generalize the valid scores for all apps. https://rbafs.org.br/RBAFS/article/view/14844AccelerometryMeasurement equipmentSitting positionEpidemiology |
| spellingShingle | Raul Cosme Ramos Prado Margarethe Thaisi Garro Knebel Evelyn Helena Corgosinho Ribeiro Inaian Pignatti Teixeira Jeffer Eidi Sasaki Luciano Vieira de Araújo Paulo Henrique Guerra Alex Antonio Florindo Smartphone apps for tracking physical activity and sedentary behavior: A criterion validity review Revista Brasileira de Atividade Física e Saúde Accelerometry Measurement equipment Sitting position Epidemiology |
| title | Smartphone apps for tracking physical activity and sedentary behavior: A criterion validity review |
| title_full | Smartphone apps for tracking physical activity and sedentary behavior: A criterion validity review |
| title_fullStr | Smartphone apps for tracking physical activity and sedentary behavior: A criterion validity review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Smartphone apps for tracking physical activity and sedentary behavior: A criterion validity review |
| title_short | Smartphone apps for tracking physical activity and sedentary behavior: A criterion validity review |
| title_sort | smartphone apps for tracking physical activity and sedentary behavior a criterion validity review |
| topic | Accelerometry Measurement equipment Sitting position Epidemiology |
| url | https://rbafs.org.br/RBAFS/article/view/14844 |
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