Members in the Media
From: NPR

Most Fitness Apps Don’t Use Proven Motivational Techniques

NPR:

If you downloaded a fitness app and didn’t become a workout ninja, it may be that the app lacked the scientifically tested motivational techniques that would help get you off the couch.

Instead, most popular fitness apps focus more on teaching you how to do the exercise, according to researchers at Penn State University who analyzed the 200 top apps.

“You need motivational support to turn that knowledge into action,” says David Conroy, a kinesiology professor at Penn State who led the study, which was published Tuesday in theAmerican Journal of Preventive Medicine.

And that’s where most of the 200 apps examined fell flat.

Slightly more than half of the apps offered at least a few recognized motivational techniques — mostly feedback on performance, goal-setting and planning social support. The other 46 percent focused on the how-tos.

Read the whole story: NPR

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