Physical Activity Surveillance in Children and Adolescents Using Smartphone Technology: Systematic Review.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Nasruddin, Nur Izzatun Nasriah Murphy, Joey Armstrong, Miranda Elaine Glynis
Editor	Badawy, Sherif
Copyright Year	2023
Abstract	BackgroundSelf-reported physical activity (PA) questionnaires have traditionally been used for PA surveillance in children and adolescents, especially in free-living conditions. Objective measures are more accurate at measuring PA, but high cost often creates a barrier for their use in low- and middle-income settings. The advent of smartphone technology has greatly influenced mobile health and has offered new opportunities in health research, including PA surveillance.ObjectiveThis review aimed to systematically explore the use of smartphone technology for PA surveillance in children and adolescents, specifically focusing on the use of smartphone apps.MethodsA literature search was conducted using 5 databases (PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, MEDLINE, and Web of Science) and Google Scholar to identify articles relevant to the topic that were published from 2008 to 2023. Articles were included if they included children and adolescents within the age range of 5 to 18 years; used smartphone technology as PA surveillance; had PA behavioral outcomes such as energy expenditure, step count, and PA levels; were written in English; and were published between 2008 and 2023.ResultsWe identified and analyzed 8 studies (5 cross-sectional studies and 3 cohort studies). All participants were aged 12-18 years, and all studies were conducted in high-income countries only. Participants were recruited from schools, primary care facilities, and voluntarily. Five studies used mobile apps specifically and purposely developed for the study, whereas 3 studies used mobile apps downloadable from the Apple App Store and Android Play Store. PA surveillance using these apps was conducted from 24 hours to 4 weeks.ConclusionsEvidence of PA surveillance using smartphone technology in children and adolescents was insufficient, which demonstrated the knowledge gap. Additional research is needed to further study the feasibility and validity of smartphone apps for PA surveillance among children and adolescents, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
Related Links	https://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC10131756&blobtype=pdf
Journal	JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting [JMIR Pediatr Parent]
Volume Number	6
DOI	10.2196/42461
PubMed Central reference number	PMC10131756
PubMed reference number	36989033
e-ISSN	25616722
Language	English
Publisher	JMIR Publications
Publisher Date	2023-03-29
Publisher Place	Toronto, Canada
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://pediatrics.jmir.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included. ©Nur Izzatun Nasriah Nasruddin, Joey Murphy, Miranda Elaine Glynis Armstrong. Originally published in JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting (https://pediatrics.jmir.org), 29.03.2023.
Subject Keyword	physical activity surveillance children adolescents smartphone technology smartphone apps smartphone technology application database mobile phone
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Health Informatics Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health Biomedical Engineering