The effect of “gender fit” on fitness app engagement

The effectiveness of fitness app in health promotion success has been observed and may greatly contribute to large health improvements of the public. However, the actual engagement with these interventions is unexpectedly low. Fitness app developers design Behavior change techniques (BCTs) to enhance user engagement with fitness apps. Although several studies have examined the effectiveness of some BCTs in encouraging user engagement with Internet-based applications in general, investigations remain underspecified. Based on the theory of psychological fit, we focus on the gender boundary condition of the effectiveness of BCTs on user engagement with fitness apps. The purpose of this research is twofold. First, we aim to explore gender differences in preferences for BCTs. The second purpose is to investigate whether there exists “gender fit” effect on user engagement of fitness apps with different BCTs.