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ACTIVITY TRACKING + MOTIVATION SCIENCE: Allies to Keep People Moving for a Lifetime

ealth economist Jane Sarasohn-Kahn recently noted research showing that wearable activity trackers and smart watches are among the H segment in consumer electronic purchases (36). It seems as if there is a fitness tracker on every wrist, and people are more than happy to share their statistics about steps and reps and minutes spent moving. Because of their tremendous commercial success and burgeoning role in promoting physical activity within the fitness, wellness, and health care arenas, it is important to critically consider both the limitations and promises of activity trackers and wearables in cultivating sustainable motivation to move. This article will discuss some concerns regarding activity tracking alone to motivate behavior, describe science related to enhancing physical activity motivation more generally, and then show how this science can become an ally to tracking apps and wearables to boost their motivational potency, engagement, and the sustainability of physical activity. Activity trackers are novel and accessible; it’s easy to grab one and go. And it’s just as easy to get engaged with feedback from your Fitbit, your Apple Watch, or your tracking app — they are shiny new tools, great gifts, and fun. And it’s not just wearables; smartphone-based tracking apps for movement, fitness, and health also have made inroads into the territory formerly occupied by home exercise machines and fitness