Research
Adherence
Stand-alone use of commercially available smartphone fitness apps (immersive or non-immersive) does not significantly improve cardiorespiratory fitness or physical activity levels in insufficiently active adolescents compared to usual behavior.
Downloading a fitness app is not a workout. If you want to improve your fitness, you must use the app consistently (ideally 3x/week) and push yourself to the required intensity. Simply having the app installed and using it occasionally will not change your cardiorespiratory fitness.
GoodRefutesHIGH confidence
our pragmatic approach using readily available commercial apps as a stand-alone instrument did not have a significant effect on fitness.
Why this rating
Randomized Controlled Trial with high retention (96%) but small sample size (N=51).
Source
Apps for IMproving FITness and Increasing Physical Activity Among Young People: The AIMFIT Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial
Artur Direito et al. · Journal of Medical Internet Research · 2015
DOI 10.2196/jmir.4568
rct · n=51Cited 209×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
Related findings · Adherence
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