What Motivates Users to Continue Using Diet and Fitness Apps? Application of the Uses and Gratifications Approach

Abstract

This study explored how the gratifications obtained from the use of diet and fitness apps may motivate users to continue their use of these apps. The effects of seven gratifications obtained were analyzed through hierarchical regression analyses. Results showed that the five gratifications of recordability, networkability, credibility, comprehensibility, and trendiness significantly predicted user intention to continue using diet/fitness apps; the hypothesized gratifications of accuracy and entertainment were not significant predictors. These findings contribute to broadening our theoretical and practical knowledge of new digital, mobile media phenomena by identifying use motivations specific to diet/fitness apps. Based on the findings, recommendations for researchers, practitioners, and developers are provided.

Expanding the Technology Acceptance Model with the Inclusion of Trust, Social Influence, and Health Valuation to Determine the Predictors of German Users’ Willingness to Continue using a Fitness App: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

“…In this study, the emphasis in the operationalization of perceived usefulness is on a fitness app's primary role of encouraging users to stay fit or to regularly exercise. Although fitness apps are designed to principally realize the role previously mentioned, such apps could also perform gamification (Hamari & Koivisto, 2015) and social interaction (Lee & Cho, 2016) functions.…”

Monitoring eating and activity: Links with disordered eating, compulsive exercise, and general wellbeing among young adults

“…Exercise and food intake monitoring apps are some of the most popular on the market, with 31% of smartphone owners using apps to monitor their diet and 38% using them to track their exercise (Fox & Duggan, ). Motivation to continue use is enhanced by certain features, including the ability to keep detailed records of exercise and food intake and the ability to interact with other users (Lee & Cho, ). Apps and other monitoring tool devices are viewed as potentially useful tools for promoting behavior change; for example, increasing physical activity (Alley et al, ) and facilitating healthy diets (De Cock et al, ; Sarcona, Kovacs, Wright, & Williams, ).…”

“…Motivation to continue use is enhanced by certain features, including the ability to keep detailed records of exercise and food intake and the ability to interact with other users (Lee & Cho, 2017). Apps and other monitoring tool devices are viewed as potentially useful tools for promoting behavior change; for example, increasing physical activity (Alley et al, 2016) and facilitating healthy diets (De Cock et al, 2017;Sarcona, Kovacs, Wright, & Williams, 2017).…”

Differences in mobile health app use: A source of new digital inequalities?

“…Some earlier studies have already focused on the users (e.g., Gimpel, Nißen, and G€ orlitz 2013;Yuan et al 2015;Lee and Cho 2016) and non-users (e.g., Peng et al 2016) of mobile health apps. However, these studies typically rely on non-representative samples, and usually focus on one specific health app to explore more in-depth or aggregate different types of health apps into one measure of mobile health app use.…”