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Counting steps with a fitness tracker doesn't at all times motivate people to be more lively. But just a little friendly competition might help, a recent study suggests.
The study, published online on September 9. JAMA Internal MedicineIt involved nearly 600 obese or obese adults, all of whom received wearable step trackers and set goals to extend their day by day steps. The researchers randomly divided them into 4 groups. The control group only had their goals and step trackers. Three other groups also had different elements of games (support, collaboration, or competition) tied to their goals, an approach often called “gamification.”
After six months, all gamification groups showed a significantly greater increase of their average day by day step count than the control group. Over the subsequent three months (through which all participants continued to work with step tracking and goals, but with none gamification), the typical variety of steps decreased in all groups, but activity increased within the competition group in comparison with the control group. The level remained high. According to the researchers, the typical person within the competition group walked about 100 miles greater than the typical person within the control group over the nine-month study. They plan future studies to see if demographics, personality, and other characteristics can predict the perfect gamification strategy for various individuals.
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