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Impact of Fitness-Tracking Applications on Physical Activity Monitoring among Young Adults in Nigeria

Abstract

Fitness-tracking applications have become increasingly popular among young adults in Nigeria as smartphones and digital health technologies provide convenient tools for monitoring physical activity and promoting healthier lifestyles. These applications can record steps, distance travelled, exercise duration, calories expended, heart rate, active minutes, and other activity-related indicators, while also providing reminders, goal-setting features, progress reports, and motivational feedback. However, the availability of fitness-tracking applications does not necessarily result in consistent physical activity monitoring, as factors such as limited digital health literacy, inaccurate interpretation of application-generated data, lack of motivation, privacy concerns, cost of premium features, and inconsistent application use may affect their effectiveness. Fitness-tracking applications may provide an accessible approach to encouraging young adults to monitor their physical activity and become more aware of their exercise patterns. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of fitness-tracking applications on physical activity monitoring among young adults in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on the Technology Acceptance Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and Health Belief Model. The Technology Acceptance Model explains how perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance may influence young adults' adoption and continued use of fitness-tracking applications. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes self-monitoring, self-efficacy, goal-setting, observational learning, feedback, reinforcement, and environmental influences in developing and maintaining physical activity behaviours. The Health Belief Model explains how perceptions of susceptibility to lifestyle-related health problems, perceived severity, perceived benefits of physical activity, perceived barriers, and cues to action may influence the use of fitness-tracking technologies for health monitoring. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how fitness-tracking applications may influence physical activity monitoring among young adults in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise young adults aged 18–35 years residing in selected urban, semi-urban, and rural communities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, local government areas, communities, universities, workplaces, fitness centres, and eligible participants. Fitness-tracking application use will be assessed using indicators such as frequency of application use, duration of use, type of application, number and type of activity indicators monitored, step tracking, exercise-duration tracking, active-minute monitoring, distance tracking, calorie or energy-expenditure monitoring, goal-setting features, reminders, progress reports, and use of wearable devices linked to applications where applicable. Physical activity monitoring will be assessed using indicators such as frequency of monitoring, regular recording of physical activity, tracking of daily steps or active minutes, monitoring of exercise duration and intensity, review of physical activity trends, achievement of activity goals, recognition of periods of inactivity, use of reminders to increase activity, and maintenance of personal activity records. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, standardized physical activity assessment tools, fitness-application usage records where accessible and consented to, smartphone-generated activity records, and relevant health or fitness programme records. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize participants' characteristics, smartphone and application-use patterns, physical activity levels, sources of fitness information, and physical activity monitoring practices. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the impact of fitness-tracking applications on physical activity monitoring. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, physical activity monitoring scores before and after introduction or structured use of a fitness-tracking application may be compared with those of a comparison group to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that fitness-tracking applications have a significant positive impact on physical activity monitoring among young adults in Nigeria. Young adults who regularly use fitness-tracking applications are expected to demonstrate more consistent physical activity monitoring practices than those without access to such applications. Fitness applications may improve awareness of daily activity levels by providing real-time or periodic information on steps, active minutes, exercise duration, distance, and other activity indicators. Goal-setting, reminders, progress reports, and feedback may encourage users to monitor their activity more consistently and identify periods of prolonged inactivity. The applications may also support self-monitoring and personal goal-setting, thereby increasing awareness of physical activity patterns and encouraging healthier lifestyle choices. However, inconsistent application use, inaccurate measurements, smartphone or wearable-device limitations, privacy concerns, limited digital health literacy, cost of some applications or devices, poor internet connectivity, and loss of motivation may reduce their effectiveness. The study therefore expects accessible, user-friendly, reliable, and appropriately designed fitness-tracking applications, supported by digital health education, to contribute significantly to improved physical activity monitoring among young adults in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on digital health, fitness-tracking applications, physical activity monitoring, mobile health, digital health technology, health promotion, sedentary behaviour prevention, young-adult health, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Federal Ministry of Education, universities, workplaces, healthcare professionals, fitness professionals, digital-health developers, public health practitioners, youth-health organizations, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for promoting physical activity among young adults. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating fitness-tracking technologies into health-promotion programmes, improving digital health literacy, encouraging responsible use of personal activity data, promoting realistic physical activity goals, strengthening links between digital monitoring and health-promotion services, and developing accessible digital interventions for improving physical activity monitoring among young adults across Nigeria.

Keywords: Fitness-tracking applications, physical activity monitoring, young adults, digital health, mobile health, physical activity, fitness technology, health promotion, sedentary behaviour, Nigeria, public health.