Use of mobile applications for food and activity logging among runners Pam McKinney (email: p.mckinney@sheffield.ac.uk; twitter: @ischoolpam) Laura Sbaffi (email: l.sbaffi@sheffield.ac.uk) Andrew Cox (email: a.m.cox@sheffield.ac.uk)
Structure of presentation 2 Background and context The survey Quantitative results Qualitative insights The future
Background: the effectiveness of food diarying 3 Paper-based food diaries have been in use since the 1930s to treat a range of health/diet issues The process of self-monitoring has been shown to increase the frequency of desired behaviours and decrease the frequency of undesired behaviours (Klasnja and Pratt, 2012) BUT Paper-based diaries are troublesome to carry, do not allow for longitudinal analysis of food intake and public recording of food intake in a paper diary can be embarrassing (Cordeiro et al., 2015) Some healthcare providers are not interested in the data (Chung 2017)
Background: the popularity of mobile apps 4 Mobile digital devices offer easy connection to health information, as well as quick and easy ways to monitor, record and share health information (Lupton, 2015) Apps facilitate self-management of health conditions and support a patient-centred model of healthcare (Handel, 2011) Recording diet on mobile devices is seen to be more effective than paper diaries (Bert et al., 2014) The popular app MyFitnessPal has 165million users worldwide There are over 10,000 apps that support diet monitoring or weight loss (Azar, 2013)
Background: mobile apps and people who run 5 People who run tend to interweave various activity trackers, sometimes with seemingly the same functionality (Rooksby et al., 2014) Tracking is often social and collaborative rather than personal while, at the same time, that there are different styles of tracking, including goal driven and documentary tracking (Rooksby et al., 2014) Users tend not to use apps regularly, but do frequently return to them, suggesting that there are times when applications are valuable to their users (Lin, Althoff and Leskovec 2018)
The survey 6 12 questions including: a. demographic questions b. questions that focused on use of diet and/or fitness apps and other technologies c. reasons for logging Advertised online through parkrun UK (http://www.parkrun.org.uk/) 143 complete responses (although 414 records were received in total)
Sample demographics 7 Gender Other, 1% Male, 31% Postgraduat e, 30.1% Prefer not to say, 2.1% Education GCSE, 7.7% "A" level, 16.8% Female, 68% 55-64 years, 9.1% 65+ years, 3.5% 18-24 years, 9.1% 25-34 years, 13.3% Undergradu ate, 43.4% 45-54 years, 30.8% Age 35-44 years, 34.3%
How long have you been running for? 8 How long have you been running for? % 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 LESS THAN 2 YEARS 37.8 2-5 YEARS 35.7 6-10 YEARS 14.0 MORE THAN 10 YEARS 12.6
How often do you run? 9 How often do you run? % 1 DAY/WEEK 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 7.7 2 DAYS/WEEK 21.7 3 DAYS/WEEK 35.0 4 DAYS/WEEK 22.4 5 DAYS/WEEK 7.7 6 DAYS WEEK 4.9 7 DAYS/WEEK 0.7
Logging activity 10 % 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 I use a step counter I use a device that records running I track my heart rate and/or other vital signs I use a food logging app I track my weight I track specific aspects of my diet e.g. sugar intake I keep a manual food diary I track my mood Every day 2-3 times/week Once a week Less than once a week In the past but not at the moment Never
Why tracking and logging? 11 % 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 I like to try out the latest gadgets 18.2 I am interested in understanding how my body works 35.0 I want to manage my weight 54.5 I want to improve my physical performance 77.6 I want to manage a medical condition 5.6 I want to identify causes of symptoms of a medical condition 3.5 Other reasons 25.2
% Sharing data with 12 55.9 44.1 43.4 41.3 2.8 7.0 6.3 M Y P A R T N E R M Y F A M I L Y M Y F R I E N D S A N O N L I N E C O M M U N I T Y A H E A L T H P R A C T I T I O N E R A T R A I N E R O T H E R
What apps are most used? 13 % 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Strava 64.3 MyFitnessPal 45.5 Garmin 18.9 FitBit 14.7 Couch25k 10.5 RunKeeper 7.7 FatSecret 1.4 LoseIt! 0.7 Athleats 0.7
Views on using apps 14 I am concerned about my long term access to my own data I am concerned about how service providers use data about me from my logging activity I spent a lot of time choosing the right app for my needs 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 I matched my needs to specific features in the app when I chose it I m happy to change my app if I find a better one I feel uncomfortable sharing my logged data with friends I am careful about accurate data entry I worry that I might become obsessed with logging I check long term trends in my activity I understand the charts produced by logging activity
if logging food 15 I use food logging to help me follow a particular formal diet (e.g. FODMAP, Paleo, Atkins) Certain types of food I eat regularly are not in the database 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 I am concerned that the app does not take into account my metabolism I am concerned about the quality of data entered by other users of the app, eg nutritional value of items I am careful to log absolutely everything that I eat
Attitudes by gender* 16 More women than men use apps to track their weight (T=5.081; p=0.024) 62% 40% More men than women like to try out the latest gadgets (T=6.019; p=0.014) 12% 31% More women than men keep or have kept a manual food diary (T=4.249; p=0.039) 26% 4% *only statistically significant results
Qualitative data - I 17 Both food and running tracking are information/data centric activities, where some of the enjoyment of the activity is linked directly to collecting information and analysing it. This could be quite technical e.g. using V02 max or heart rate monitoring, but often fairly simple tracking speed, and training plans were rarely mentioned. I use Fitbit and TomTom running watch to log my steps and calories daily. I monitor my heartrate during exercise. I also log my sleep. Using VO2 to reduce Parkrun times and increase fitness. Although I use Strava, this is only to capture the data. I have my own spreadsheet where I store this information and more. I initially used My fitness pal to see how many calories were in specific foods and also to see how the calories balanced against manually inputted exercise. Then I got a Fitbit and linked the two. I am type 1 diabetic and am interested in keeping my weight at a healthy BMI. I also use Endomondo for logging runs and the training plan in it for my first half marathon in September.
Qualitative data - II 18 Running tracking and food logging are very different practices: - food logging is private, time consuming and seen as dangerous if it becomes obsessive - tracking running is shared, easy and inherently enjoyable My run data however is probably plastrered all over the internet - Garmin connect to up load it from watch, Strava, running heroes for vouchers and competitions and Mapmyrun to support sister in man verses the year!!! I use Strava and MFP differently Strava is much more social MFP is personal and I see no reason to share it. I'm happy using separate apps because I like Samsung Heakth for the food/weight logging but don't want to share that but I love connecting with other runners on Strava as well as being able to analyse my own results.
Qualitative data - III 19 Participants concerns were mostly about ease of data entry. Food logging had various problems such as database coverage. Such issues made it time consuming, and possibly affected data quality. Running could be affected by devices not synching, failure to pick up GPS signal. I like automatic logging, e.g. Fitbit always on. But don t like hassle of uploading and that not waterproof. In terms of fitness apps, I wish they would sync with each other more. Logging can be negative if a device wants you to move and you cannot, due to medical or personal reasons. Interfaces need to evolve and become more personal, flexible and compassionate. I like that Garmin Connect and Strava both allow automated uploading settings without human interaction.
The future 20 Understanding in a bit more detail the value of logging and at what point and why users stop logging. Which app is best? What would make an app easy to use for people who run for pleasure? (e.g. how many functions should it have?) Participants concerns were mostly about ease of entry of data. Food logging had various problems such as database coverage. Such issues make logging time consuming, and possibly affect data quality. Can we develop better practice based on this? Running could be affected by devices not synching or failing to pick up GPS signal. How can apps be improved? Do different communities use apps in different ways?
Thank you Any questions?
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