READY, SET, GAME! The gamification strategy is widely used by developers of fitness apps,and could be one reason users are quick to abandon them, according to a recent study.
An increasingly sedentary lifestyle in which people can't put down their mobile devices has led app developers to believe there could be a pot of gold in motivating people to exercise by means of gamified fitness, though researchers says the gaming aspect could have limited long-term success.
"It's just been assumed that gamified apps will work, but there has been no research to show that they're effective for people long-term," says lead author Cameron Lister of the Brigham Young University Health Sciences Department.
