A positive spiral effect of M-health app videos

With the advance of mobile technologies, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, the concept of “home exercise” has emerged as a trend, and mobile health applications (m-health apps) have been at the center of this trend. M-health apps are mobile applications that are designed to intervene in users’ behaviors and facilitate their physical activity. However, the effects of m-health apps on users’ physical activity are not yet conclusive—the findings of prior studies are mixed. Complementing these prior studies, our study investigates whether watching exercise videos that an m-health app provides (m-health app videos) on day $$t-j$$ t - j is positively associated with the level of physical activity on day $$t$$ t , while controlling for the relationship between the level of physical activity on day $$t-j$$ t - j and the time spent watching m-health app videos on day $$t$$ t , where $$j\in \left\{\text{1,2},\dots ,J\right\}$$ j ∈ 1,2 , ⋯ , J , by using the panel-vector autoregressive (PVAR) model and impulse response functions (IRFs). From the data of 4725 m-health app users, we find that m-health app videos create a positive spiral (or virtuous cycle) effect. M-health app videos motivate users to engage in physical activity, which in turn persuades them to continue watching m-health app videos and thus continue using the app.