Wearable Fitness Tracking Technology

The lack of exercise is a growing concern in the United States for all age groups, but especially for young adults. The increasing demands young adults face from school, work, friends, and family has made time constraints the number one barrier to healthy behaviors such as exercise (as cited in Pelletier & Laska, 2012). A study on college students found that young adults who are women, 4-year university students, or students in lower socioeconomic status were among the groups that were most affected by time constraints, unhealthy diets, and lack of exercise (Pelletier & Laska, 2012). Furthermore, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (n.d.b.), adults between the ages of 18-64 need 150 minutes of exercise each week. However,

Among one that is growing in popularity in recent years is the use of wearable fitness tracking technology, such as the Fitbit and Samsung Gear Fit. (Wright & Keith, 2014). Wearable fitness technology are electronic devices that are incorporated into wearable accessories such as shirts, headbands, and bracelets (Wright & Keith, 2014). This type of technology has similar abilities as smartphones, but also have additional sensory features that can track the daily physical activity of the one wearing it (Wright & Keith, 2014). The device can also track and monitor daily steps taken, heart rate, food intake, and sleeping habits (Wright & Keith, 2014). In a recent published study, Raymond, Miltenberger, and Solley (2015) investigated the effectiveness the Fitbit and Fitbit Plus Coach, an internet-based program that incorporates a virtual coach. During this study the participants were asked to wear a Fitbit One device where the data collected would synced into the Fitbit tracking website. The study found that the Fitbit device with the coach component increased the daily steps of the participants by 48.4% to 65.6% with an average adherence of 93%; however, the participants did not have a lot of weight loss. The Fitbit showed a modest increase in physical activity among the participants of the study especially when it came with the virtual coach feature (Raymond, Miltenberger, &Solley, 2015).

This is a type of intervention is where a practitioner helps their client change a behavior by encouraging self-motivation and positive change (Zastrow, 2013). Motivation interviewing (MI) involves the practitioner expressing empathy, rolling with resistance, developing discrepancy, and encouraging and supporting self-efficacy in clients (Zastrow, 2013). Practitioner use change talk to dismiss any misconception or negative belief on the target behavior as well use positive feedback to increase motivation in the client (Hardcastle, Blake, & Hagger, 2012). There are numerous studies that have shown that MI is associated with behavioral change. For example in Hardcastle, Blake, and Hagger (2012), trained lifestyle change facilitators in the UK implemented MI sessions that lasted 20 minutes each for 207 patients from low socioeconomic status that lived a lifestyle with little physical activity. On average each participant attended 2 sessions of MI over a 6 month intervention period. The study found that motivational interviewing as well as more MI sessions a patient attends can lead to an increase in physical activity, specifically in disadvantage communities with low levels of physical activity. The authors found that the best number sessions that people may need to attend to increase physical activity was around 4 to 5 MI sessions (Hardcastle, Blake, & Hagger,