Effects of mobile-based exercise intervention on health indices by the comparison of personal training time in male workers

Background: In the case of large companies, exercise programs for workers need to be operated effectively. However, programs could be limited to managing many employees using just a few exercise trainers, depending on circumstances, and exercise programs are likely to be more effective through the use of applications on mobile devices. In this research, we examine the effects of the degree of personal training (PT) time on health indices and stress by conducting an exercise program through the use of mobile devices used by male workers. Methods: We recruited 60 applicants who wanted to participate in the study of their own free will in H Company, Seoul, South Korea. The participants in the mobile-based exercise (MBE) programs were divided into three groups: mobile-based exercise with 30 minutes of personal training (PT) group (n=21), MBE with 5 minutes of PT group (n=20), and MBE self-exercise group (n=19). For data processing, SPSS was used to derive the mean (M) and standard deviation (SD) values of all measured items. The results were analyzed by repeated two-way ANOVA, paired t-test, one-way ANOVA and least significant difference (LSD). The significance level of all statistical values was set at .05. Results: In the MBE with 30 minutes PT group and MBE with 5 minutes PT group, body fat mass and percentage of body fat significantly decreased, and fat-free mass significantly increased. It was noted that all variables related to physical fitness (muscular endurance, muscular strength, flexibility, cardiopulmonary endurance, movement screen) improved significantly in all three groups. Incidentally, HR rest, SBP and MAP significantly decreased in the MBE with 30 minutes PT group and MBE with 5 minutes PT group. PP and RPP significantly decreased in all groups, while stress significantly decreased in the MBE with 5 minutes PT group. Conclusions: The use of mobile-based exercise training had positive effects on the health status of workers, and the positive effects were augmented as the degree of PT time by an exercise trainer increased. In addition, it is noteworthy that the MBE with 5 minutes PT group improved to the same extent as the MBE with 30 minutes PT group. The study indicates that it is possible to manage large numbers of employees’ exercise programs using mobile applications. Any follow-up study would need to develop ways to motivate and tailor content and verify exercise programs while using mobile devices of the workers for participation in continuous and voluntary exercise. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2020;34(Special issue-3):10-17] Keywords: Exercise, personal training, mobile-based