According to the statistics of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), 415 million people have diabetes in the world and there were 3.2 million cases in Thailand in 2015 and it is expected that about 183 people will die daily from the effects of diabetes (Novo Nordic , 2013 ). On the other hand, the food consumption behavior and exercise behavior of Thai people have been remarkably changed according to changed lifestyle, celebrity influence and increase of.
Research Objective
Since the technology is widely and daily used, it can be a golden opportunity to investigate the possible and suitable methods to utilize the use of technology for health improvement for health concerned people. Since there are many aspects regarding self-health management plus response to the health development plan of the government, exercise can be an interesting scope of study, more specifically, it creates a new exploration of the problem statement on how digital platform can improve exercise behavior and make it more adequate and more regular for people when it comes to health.
Health Care Situation in a Global and Thailand Perspective Due to the change in lifestyle during economic growth, eating behavior as
In contrast, eating energy-dense food as well as ingredients of animal origin increases the possibility of gaining more weight and puts the consumers at greater risk of having chronic diseases (Junyi Chai, 2015). Additionally, the duration of exercise time spent as well as regular meal pattern shows a negative relationship with obesity and low level of health problem risk.
Digital Platform and Internet Users
It is believed that high consumption of fruits, vegetables and dietary fiber can generate a better health status and reduce the risk of health problems (Junyi Chaim 2015). In Thailand, the number of mobile and internet users has been steadily increasing every year.
Web-Based Health Maintenance Information
In addition, tracking systems or self-monitoring systems such as food consumption calorie records, historical data on exercise, weight gain and sedentary time are categorized as monitored information. The last one is experienced information that is involved in individual or others' experience sharing, such as role model behavior and activities.
Social Network
As for personalized information, the results or feedback will be automatically analyzed according to the database from ready-made systems and software, such as the relationship between calories consumed and physical movements or food intake. The content covered is related to nutrition, exercise, including other healthy practices such as meditation and sleep (Kreetta, 2014).
Mobile Applications
Meanwhile, celebrity endorsement via social networks such as Facebook, Instagram or YouTube can be another critical factor in driving self-health management to success, as it is another form of marketing communication (Hurmerinta, 2010). However, the existing mobile app on health maintenance mainly focuses on basic functions such as daily food consumption, analysis of calorie burning related to activities or heartbeat record (Kreetta, 2014).
Technology Acceptance Model
There is positive correlation between functional benefits, emotional benefits which are ease of use, and new technology which is using intention. If the new technology can generate better performance but reduce users' effort, the potential for intention to use would be relatively higher (Manuel, 2015; Jin Young Im, 2014; Jun Mo Kwon, 2013).
The Relationship Between Technology And Health Care Industry Unhealthy food consumption behaviors and insufficient physical activity
However, another research, as a technology developer, argued that there are still some problems in the implementation of self-healthcare system (KMPG, 2016). On the other hand, existing mobile applications still lack efficient features as well as device connectivity to monitor and deliver a better personalized healthcare and wellness services (Banos, 2015).
Population and Sample
Since the main objective is to investigate the impact of digital platforms on self-health management, especially dieting and health maintenance aspects, together with the identification of the most powerful platforms that can increase the frequency, as well as the duration of exercise for users. In addition, it aims to investigate the most preferred digital platforms that play the most important role in terms of improving exercise frequency as well as exercise duration increasing to generate both hypotheses plus specific concerning issues. All of them have a strong discipline in terms of an annual examination, while most are usually looking for physical activities such as jogging, marathon, yoga, Pilates, boxing, walking or even walking.
Regarding integrated devices with mobile application, the majority of the focus group is aware of the existence of digital wearable devices such as smartwatches. Participants use these wearable devices to measure their daily walking steps, heart rate, sleep patterns and calorie consumption.
Research Design
In a digital perspective, all participants have at least one smartphone, while some also have personal computers. In terms of the habit of interacting with the Internet, everyone uses basic applications such as LINE, Facebook, photo editing, video recording, including search engines and other online information technology at least once a week. In addition, there are some people who have tried mobile self-care apps, and some have practiced specific exercises such as yoga, Zumba dance, and cardio through YouTube.
It is noted that there are some participants who own smartwatches that monitor their daily health records, such as Samsung Geer, Garmin, Xiaomi and FitBit. In terms of interest, all participants realized that they are part of the research and that they are willing to gain more knowledge, exchange experiences, and share their preferred digital platforms that would reduce their inadequate health behaviors while benefiting their daily health maintenance .
Research Framework
Research Question
Based on group discussion, the findings revealed that the majority of respondents are female as there are 20 people among 32 participants, which is equivalent to 62.5 percent. Regarding exercise frequency, 60 percent of participants answered that they usually exercise once or twice a week while there are 40 percent who answered that they exercise more than three times a week. Unlike any other physical activities such as yoga, swimming or weight training, which require specific equipment and need more time to practice.
Moreover, there are many supporting things available in the market, such as running training schedule, running distance tracker, heart rate tracker, including many running events. Finally, the remaining 5 percent represents other physical activities such as squats and NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis).
Web-based Platform
- Provide usefulness and relevant information
- Generate better exercise productivity
- Increase self-efficacy
- Not too complicate to access and follow
In terms of responding to users' demands, participants described showing the preferred information as well as providing alternative websites that people could link to for deeper information. Therefore, they preferred to visit official websites to search for new exercise equipment and its features, as well as price comparison and distribution channels. I can compare the features and prices of each sports equipment as well as places nearby where I can buy through websites”.
The website is a complete platform for me to learn new things such as new training classes, new training equipment, new training community as well as finding the appropriate type of cardio that I should do”. The platform allowed them to check the course schedule, gym attendance frequency, teacher background as well as allow.
Social Media Platform
- Provide useful and relevant information
- Generate better exercise productivity
- Provide enjoyment
- Increase self-efficacy
- Not too complicate to access and follow
It is 100% of the participants among the five focus groups who agreed that their exercise performance can be improved by social media in terms of accuracy and extension of exercise duration. There are three groups, which is equal to 60% of all participants, who presented that the social media platform can provide satisfaction during their training. More than 60% of correspondents said they are happy and enjoy sharing their training performance through social media.
Based on the results, it can be summarized that the social media platform has many critical features that can fulfill both functional (PU) and emotional benefit (PEOU) for users. Simply put, it can be explained that social media helps leverage users' exercise behavior to be more appropriate and frequent.
Mobile Application
- Provide useful and relevant information
- Generate better exercise productivity
- Provide enjoyment
- Increase self-efficacy
- Not too complicate to follow
On the other hand, the heart rate function has a great impact on improving the exercise performance of users, so that it can monitor the heart rate during exercise and thus achieve the desired result. During the discussion, it was noted that there is a certain correlation between calorie burn and heart rate. They explained that the workout can be divided into several zones based on the goal of the workout and the heart rate.
For example, if people want to stimulate fat transformation, their heart rate should be at least 120 bpm. On the other hand, if athletes wanted to improve their lung performance, they would track their heart rate in a pace zone based on different running speeds.
DISCUSSION
Recommendation
- Cardio-Beginning Exercisers
- Non-Cardio-Beginning Exercisers
- Cardio-Intermediate Exercisers
- Non-Cardio-Intermediate Exercisers
First, it is outstanding that social media is recommended for all types of exercisers because it can provide preferred values in terms of functional benefit and emotional benefit to users. For example, Facebook provides rational benefit for intermediate exercisers, while being used as an entertainment tool for the beginner group. Facebook is the suitable path because it is the easiest connection that the exercisers assess every day.
To recommend the most appropriate digital platform, it is remarkable that both social media and mobile applications are essential choices that bring about better exercise productivity along with better purpose for this group. The statistical data not only clarify a better understanding of self-exercise performance every time, but are also useful for improving exercise productivity.
Limitation and Future Research
Again, the exercise products and service providers should avoid publishing incorrect content from unreliable sources to increase the outcome of exercise productivity as well as to reduce physical injury during exercise. The exercise is only one part of general health maintenance concepts and the presented results can be useful fundamental information for the future research. The future study may involve nutrition facts, eating habits, as well as sleep in a consideration to find out the deeper facts about how and which digital platforms can improve the health maintenance of healthcare people.
Conclusion
On the other hand, the intention to use social media during training tends to exploit, mainly because it fulfills both rational and emotional benefits for users, but in different dimensions for different training personalities. In contrast, social media is considered a rich source of relevant and useful information for the intermediate exerciser. Thus, PU is more powerful than PEOU for this group in influencing users' attitudes toward using social media during their training.
In conclusion, social media is the most powerful digital platform for intent to use technology enhancement for all types of exercisers. 34;Can preparing a healthy eating goal cause exhausted consumers to prefer healthier snacks?.” Journal of Consumer Marketing Deloitte Center for Health Solutions.
