Activity Trackers and Physical Activity Among Youth in Low-Resource Settings
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47779/ajhs.2026.787Keywords:
wearable electronic devices, child, after-school programs, physical activity monitoring, underserved populationsAbstract
Regular physical activity in children reduces the risk of chronic diseases later in life. Economically disadvantaged children are particularly at risk for physical inactivity and related chronic health conditions, making them a priority population for intervention. Wearable activity trackers may boost children's moderate to vigorous activity (MVPA). Objective This study examined if wearing an activity tracker watch (ATW) increased MVPA and step count in 34 economically disadvantaged children (8–11yrs) during a 7-week after-school program. Design A counterbalanced, within-subject design and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests compared MVPA and step count between weeks with and without ATWs. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests explored the impact of sex, BMI, and age on these differences. Results When participants wore ATWs, MVPA (median = 10.7 min, IQR = 8.7–12.6) was higher than when ATWs were not worn (median = 9.2 min, IQR = 7.4–13.4), Z = −3.67, p < .001, r = .63. Step count was also higher in the ATW condition (median = 1,268 steps, IQR = 1,164–1,613) compared to the ACC condition (median = 1,096 steps, IQR = 895–1,429), Z = −3.72, p < .001, r = .64. No significant differences were found by BMI category, age, or sex. Conclusions Despite modest absolute increases, the presence of an activity tracker during an after-school physical activity program was associated with higher MVPA and step counts, indicating that tracker reactivity may modestly enhance activity during structured programs in low-resource settings.
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