Wearables with mobile app help promote exercise, keep MetS at bay

Using wearable devices with a mobile app can encourage physical activity (PA) among middle-aged individuals in rural communities and in turn prevent metabolic syndrome (MetS), according to a recent Korea study.

“PA monitoring and intervention using a wearable device for 6 months effectively prevented MetS in rural participants in Korea,” the researchers said. “Since the clinical values that can confirm the improvement of MetS may not improve in a short time, a longer-term study is needed.”

From December 2019 to June 2020, 221 middle-aged participants were asked to use a wearable device either alone (standard intervention group; n=108) or in conjunction with a mobile app (enhanced intervention group; n=113). The primary outcome of interest was the difference in PA between the standard and enhanced intervention groups, as quantified by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ).

The researchers also looked into the between-group difference in the change in MetS factors: abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high triglyceride levels, and elevated high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C).

Total PA improved significantly in both the standard (p=0.04) and enhanced (p=0.02) intervention groups after the intervention. Most of the improvements could be explained by the significant increase in vigorous PA (p<0.001 for both groups) and total number of steps taken per day (p<0.001 for both groups), and by the significant drop in sedentary behaviour (p<0.001 for both groups). [JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2022;10:e34059]

Of note, the magnitude of PA improvement was greater in the enhanced intervention group, who more than doubled their mean weekly time spent in PA (123.4 to 250.5 minutes per week; mean change, 127.1 minutes per week). In comparison, those in the standard deviation group improved their PA time from 117.2 to 161.7 minutes per week, a change of just 44.4 minutes per week.

The PA intervention also led to significant improvements in various clinical factors such as systolic and diastolic blood pressure, waist circumference, and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels in both groups (p<0.001 for all). However, only participants who received both the device and app intervention saw significant drops in weight and body mass index (BMI; p<0.001).

Similarly, the overall number of MetS factors dropped significantly in both the enhanced (2.7 to 2.0; p<0.001) and standard (3.0 to 2.1; p<0.001) intervention groups. The number of individuals without any MetS risk factor increased by 11 percent and 7 percent in the respective groups.

“The results of this study showed that the app of the wearable device itself was effective in reducing blood pressure, waist circumference, and HbA1c,” the researchers said. “The addition of a mobile app along with the wearable device to the intervention also led to reduced weight and BMI.”

“[T]he enhanced intervention group showed higher persistence, whereas in the standard intervention group, the number of steps initially increased and then decreased from the middle to late part of the study period,” they added.