“It is very important for there to be physical activity and sport professionals behind the apps in this area”

The market for physical activity and sport apps has been experiencing unprecedented growth in recent years due to various factors. According to a recent study by Allied Market Research, the main reasons include the increase in the use of smartphones and wearables, a greater awareness of the need to acquire healthy lifestyle habits, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which exponentially triggered the downloading and development of these types of apps.

Many of these apps record different parameters of physical activity and health, include geolocation services, and offer advice and training plans. The offer available is extensive and behind it is a business that, according Statista, has a turnover of more than €80 million in Spain. This figure will continue to grow to around €113 million in 2027.

Since 2017, the TIC Salut Social Foundation has had a collaboration agreement with the Association of Physical Activity and Sport Professionals of Catalonia (COPLEFC) to promote initiatives that add differential value in terms of the use of ICT in the field of health. One of the projects that has already been launched is the association’s participation in validating the Content Block for the TIC Salut Social Foundation’s App Certification Service.

“It is very important for there to be physical activity and sport professionals behind the apps in this area,” according to Daniel Lara, a physical education expert in physical activity and digital health, and a member of the COPLEFC’s Innovation and Technology Group and Health Committee. Having the participation of a professional and content validated by reference guides are the fundamental criteria reviewed by the association when assessing the quality of the physical activity and sport apps that pass the certification process.

One of the guides used as a reference to validate the content is the Guide to Prescribing Physical Exercise for Health (PEFS). This collects the available evidence on the prescription of physical exercise for health in relation to different diseases and life stages. The main objective of this guide is to make it easier for professionals to adapt the general physical exercise recommendations to each person’s characteristics.

About COPLEFC

COPLEFC is an association for people who hold degrees in physical education and physical activity and sport sciences, as well as professionals registered in the Official Register of Sport Professionals (ROPEC) who have official training and qualifications. Since 2021, the association has offered a Quality Seal that “aims to become the quality reference point that the Catalan sport system needs in all of its aspects”. In an interview with TIC Salut, Alèxia Pérez, the manager of COPFLEC, said that they are aware of the avalanche of misinformation on the web in the field of physical activity and sport. They are working to put mechanisms in place to be able to recognise reliable content produced in Catalonia to protect people’s health and safety.