Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jul 9:4:2055207618785798.
doi: 10.1177/2055207618785798. eCollection 2018 Jan-Dec.

Behavior change techniques in mobile applications for sedentary behavior

Emily E Dunn  1 , Heather L Gainforth  2 , Jennifer E Robertson-Wilson  1
Affiliations

Behavior change techniques in mobile applications for sedentary behavior

Emily E Dunn et al. Digit Health. .

Abstract

Objective: Mobile applications (apps) are increasingly being utilized in health behavior change interventions. To determine the presence of underlying behavior change mechanisms, apps for physical activity have been coded for behavior change techniques (BCTs). However, apps for sedentary behavior have yet to be assessed for BCTs. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to review apps designed to decrease sedentary time and determine the presence of BCTs.

Methods: Systematic searches of the iTunes App and Google Play stores were completed using keyword searches. Two reviewers independently coded free (n = 36) and paid (n = 14) app descriptions using a taxonomy of 93 BCTs (December 2016-January 2017). A subsample (n = 4) of free apps were trialed for one week by the reviewers and coded for the presence of BCTs (February 2017).

Results: In the free and paid app descriptions, only 10 of 93 BCTs were present with a mean of 2.42 BCTs (range 0-6) per app. The BCTs coded most frequently were "prompts/cues" (n = 43), "information about health consequences" (n = 31), and "self-monitoring of behavior" (n = 17). For the four free apps that were trialed, three additional BCTs were coded that were not coded in the descriptions: "graded tasks," "focus on past successes," and "behavior substitution."

Conclusions: These sedentary behavior apps have fewer BCTs compared with physical activity apps and traditional (i.e., non-app) physical activity and healthy eating interventions. The present study sheds light on the behavior change potential of sedentary behavior apps and provides practical insight about coding for BCTs in apps.

Keywords: Behavior change techniques; mHealth; mobile applications; sedentary behavior; sitting.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow chart of systemic search of the app stores.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Number of apps with BCT present
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Owen N, Healy GN, Matthews CE, et al. Too much sitting: the population-health science of sedentary behavior. Exerc Sport Sci Rev 2010; 38: 105–113. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Katzmarzyk PT, Church TS, Craig CL, et al. Sitting time and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2009; 41: 998–1005. - PubMed
    1. Sedentary Behavior Research Network. Standardized use of the terms “sedentary” and “sedentary behaviors”. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 2012; 37: 540–542. - PubMed
    1. Colley RC, Garriguet D, Janssen I, et al. Physical activity of Canadian adults: accelerometer results from the 2007 to the 2009 Canadian health measures survey. Health Rep 2011; 22: 7–14. - PubMed
    1. Matthews CE, Chen KY, Freedson PS, et al. Amount of time spent in sedentary behaviors in the United States, 2003–2004. Am J Epidemiol 2008; 167: 875–881. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources