NHS Active 10 App: A Step in the Right Direction?

Active 10 is a mobile app developed by Public Health England that encourages users to walk briskly for at least 10 minutes at a time. It's a simple, accessible way to incorporate physical activity into daily life.

Researchers analyzed data from over 200,000 Active 10 users between July 2021 and January 2024. They used a time-series analysis to see how walking habits changed after users downloaded the app.

• Immediate Increase in Walking: On the day users downloaded Active 10, brisk walking increased by an average of 9 minutes per day (73% above baseline), and non-brisk walking increased by 2.6 minutes per day (9% above baseline).


• Sustained Improvement (Sort Of): While walking levels decreased slightly over time, they remained above pre-download levels even after 30 months.


• Target Setting Matters: Users who set targets in the app experienced a greater increase in both brisk and non-brisk walking.


• Widget Benefits: Downloading the app's widget was associated with a slower decline in brisk walking over time and a larger immediate increase in non-brisk walking.


• Health Article Engagement: Reading health articles within the app also boosted brisk walking.

The study suggests that Active 10 can be an effective tool for promoting physical activity. The immediate increase in walking is encouraging, and the fact that improvements were maintained (at least partially) over time indicates the app's potential for long-term impact.

The researchers acknowledge several limitations:

• The study wasn't a randomized controlled trial, so they can't definitively rule out other factors that might have influenced walking habits.


• They didn't have data on walking levels after users stopped using the app.


• Users who downloaded the app were likely more motivated than the general population.


• Limited pre-intervention data (5 days).


• Limited data on age and sex made stratified analyses difficult.

Despite these limitations, the study provides strong evidence that Active 10 can help people increase their walking levels. The app's ease of use and accessibility make it a valuable tool for public health initiatives. Future research should focus on how to keep users engaged long-term and explore the app's impact on actual health outcomes.

The study authors recommend that future studies should be designed to address the limitations noted above, and also suggest studies examining the effectiveness of a multi-faceted national app-based interventions including features such as linkage to a wearable device, rewards, personalisation under randomised-control conditions. They also note the importance of extending follow-up to evaluate effects on health outcomes, and to concentrate on how users might be retained given the potential benefit of long-term use.