Information Presentation Methods for Setting Achievable and Meaningful Goals on Fitness Apps.

Exercise beginners often use recommender systems, such as fitness apps, to form new exercise habits. However, it is difficult for individuals with little training experience to estimate the costs and benefits of the recommended exercise goals and to set appropriate goals for themselves. In this paper, we propose several information presentation methods for recommender systems in the health field to help users accurately estimate the costs and benefits of their exercise goals. Based on Atkinson’s theory of achievement motivation, we designed three of information, – the amount of effort required to achieve a goal, the degree to which the goal is achievable, and the benefits obtained from achieving the goal – to encourage users to set effective goals and establish exercise habits. To determine how the proposed methods affect users’ motivation to exercise, we conducted an online user study using a Japanese crowdsourcing service. The results suggest that the proposed methods have the potential to motivate users to exercise and promote realistic goal-setting. The findings of this study contribute to the design of exercise goal–setting support systems tailored to individual users.