Contemporary Issues in Events

Management
Student name: Phan Thi Nhung
Table of Contents
1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 3
2 Globalization ........................................................................................................................... 3
3 Technology .............................................................................................................................. 5
4 Conflict and Co-operation ....................................................................................................... 7
5 Discussion ................................................................................................................................ 9
6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 10
7 References ............................................................................................................................. 11
1 Introduction

Over the past few decades, the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) has gone through countless
waves and is regarded as “a general-purpose technology” (Dauvergne, 2021). Given the fact that
it solves situations by a complex algorithm from many simple algorithms, it gradually unlocks the
door with numerous opportunities as a hope for a bright global future (Ishak & Siraj, 2002;
Vaddiparthi, 2021), which encompasses fitness and entertainment.

According to Dr Charlotte Hilton, of the British Psychological Society, human beings become
more concerned about their health and daily diet during the epidemic outbreak (Criddle, 2020).
However, whether "Can fitness apps be as effective as a personal trainer?", an article from the
BBC News entitled. The report, in general, deals with the benefits of fitness apps for exercisers.
Beyond the factors of low cost and ease of use during the epidemic season, pre-set algorithms
allow the fitness app to capture customer feedback to improve the practising program more
effectively. The article showed the information that personalizing users' exercises according to
suggested answers, or even using algorithms based on women's menstrual cycle records to support
appropriate and safe activities health for them.

Although the fitness app is explicitly a double-edged sword, it is irrefutable that this invention has
altered human beings' lives. Therefore, beyond focusing mainly on analyzing the impact of AI in
a global context, this essay will shed some light on the opportunities, drawbacks, risks and threats
of this high-tech tool for stakeholders and units cooperating to produce the application. Add to that
suggested solutions to make AI technology more advanced.

2 Globalization

According to IHRSA 2016, the growth of the fitness and health business is increasingly recognized
as a global movement industry that has a significant impact on human society, especially online
fitness apps (Jong and Drummond, 2016). To be specific, fitness apps ranked 2nd, accounting for
51%, compared to music applications accounting for 79% (Bale & Christensen, 2004). This entails
the synchronous development of health and fitness-related industries (George, 2008; Andreasson
& Johansson, 2014), which is like a global fitness revolution (Sassatelli, 2011; Andreasson &
Johansson, 2014). This industry has contributed to the increase in revenue of health clubs
worldwide to about 96.7 billion U.S. dollars (Gough, 2021). Owing to the severe impact of covid-
19 has disrupted the approach to the fitness industry (WHO, 2021), leading an increasing number
of people are switching to fitness apps combined with the purchase of home exercise equipment,
which increases by 130% (IHRSA, 2020; Gough, 2021). As a result, fitness apps have also been
noticed and improved with more and more functions.

In the previous period, the fitness application only provided simple exercises on a daily basis for
users to follow, but now there are countless new functions that have been improved and attracted
users of the fitness application than in the past. To be specific, the app's AI takes input from fitness
professionals — a "human-augmented AI method" — and adapts it to your unique workout talents
and goals, as well as the constantly-updating results of tens of millions of users. Beside exercises,
users are suggested to know if they are taking carbs or fats to balance their intake. There are also
thousands of low-cost applications like FitnessAI, which claims to have trained its algorithm on
5.9 million exercises and is "guaranteed to out-perform any human personal trainer"; it thus
leads to 47 million users in more than 160 countries worldwide. There's AI Fitness Kiosk, the Vi
AI-powered jogging software, hundreds of AI-powered weight reduction applications, and so on.
On the other hand, Fitness apps, which are the most popular form of mobile health applications
(mHealth apps), may help people control their nutritional intake, participate in fitness and
physical activities, and live a healthier lifestyle (Liu & Avello, 2020). As a result, these
applications are steadily gaining market share in the business mobile app industry (Beldad and
Hegner, 2018). Several studies have used empirical methods to confirm the results of utilizing
fitness apps to improve users' levels of physical activity or nutrition (Schoeppe et al., 2017). To
develop this argument, the AI evaluates what you should be able to perform and encourages you
to do it (Koetsier, 2020).

In a recent survey of 2,000 Americans leading the use of fitness apps, the results indicated that
56% of people had no intention of returning to the gym with membership. Meanwhile, the
proportion of men accounted for 80% for self-training at home without moving to the gym
compared to the pre-pandemic period (Koetsier, 2020). In terms of fitness apps, Fitness app Strava
saw a spike in users by 44% replacing cancelled marathons and a growing number of online clubs
working to motivate each other to work out. For example, since January, new sign-ups to Les Mills'
On-Demand fitness service have increased by 900 per cent, with over 184,000 users exchanging
fitness adventures and inspiring suggestions. When mental health is depleted, it can be difficult to
exercise, but people in the community can share their stories and suggest alternative ways of
obtaining support in addition to adopting better lifestyle choices (Criddle, 2020).

The type of fitness app has expanded and spread to many other parts of the world, typically Asia-
Pacific. Although investment and development in the region are relatively unremarkable, it is
projected to grow (ESCAP, 2021). Take China as a salient example, it is also a "bright" country in
the field when it established China's Artificial Intelligence Industry Innovation Alliance (CAIIIA)
in 2017 and make an effort to become a global innovation hub in the field by 2030. This supports
China to push the country's development regarding fitness apps to new heights (EAGER, et al,
2020). Because in the market segment, the higher the drive to market penetration, the greater the
opportunity for revenue expansion, generating more ancillary revenue. The fitness apps industry
is regarded as a spring that promotes the development of different industries with disparity revenue
levels. On the other hand, Kevin Dawidowicz, the president of CoachMePlus, said that fitness apps
are used as effective tools for fitness clubs to apply and invest in profit from channel conversion
programs like do-it-yourself (DIY). This program aims to combine training with a personal trainer
and promote intense hyper-personalization.

3 Technology

In the twenty-first century, the usage of fitness applications has become a critical component in
assisting and advising individuals on the adoption of healthy lifestyles, especially in young people
and who loves to do exercises (Anderson et al., 2019). Despite the fact that some physicians are
sceptical of fitness app procedures and suggestions, these apps have a lot of promise to be
beneficial because of their capacity to teach a huge section of the public on healthy behaviours at
a minimal cost of operation (Blackman et al., 2013). In 2021, the exercise and weight loss sector
had the highest revenue share of more than 50.0 per cent. Meanwhile, young individuals use
fitness applications for a number of reasons, including recording physical activity, keeping track
of daily nutrition, and obtaining health information (E.Barkley et al., 2020). Mobile fitness app
usage has surged by more than 300 percent since 2014, with around 160,000 fitness-related apps
vying for users' attention (King, 2018). From 2022 to 2030, the global fitness app market is
expected to grow at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 17.6%. (Grandviewreasearch,
2022). Fitness apps include a long list of technical advantages, including increased convenience
and availability, low cost, the ability to overcome time and space restrictions, and support for
remote health monitoring (Abelson, et al., 2016). Fitness applications have been found to provide
a variety of health advantages, including greater desire for physical exercise, enhanced health
management and self-care, and improved psychological well-being (Jiang, Zhang, & Teo, 2021).

With a variety of new developments, today's fitness apps have given access to new opportunities
in its use. Firstly, fitness apps are diversified with functions that help users find exercises and
schedules that are tailored to each individual - hyper-personalization (IHRSA, 2019). For
example, the PRO digital coaching program of Virtuagym gives users a personalized workout and
nutrition plan to track progress and provide long-term social support. Strava and Nike Run Club
offer several technology capabilities to assist users in tracking their heart rate and monitoring the
frequency, duration, and intensity of their physical activity (Mateo et al., 2015; Tikkanen &
Barnhouse, 2017). Moreover, with mathematical calculations and proprietary scientific formulas,
the application allows users to track the fat burning process during exercise. If hypoxic means
anaerobic zone, they may be burning the wrong glucose or body fat, then warns people to approach
proper exercise (IHRSA, 2019). Secondly, the popularity of apps that help users cultivate
healthcare knowledge with others (Goodyear and Armour, 2018; Jiang, Zhang, & Teo, 2021);
hyper-socialization is connected with hyper-personalization. The use of nutrition or even diet apps
resulted in a greater understanding of a healthy diet and the advantages of modifying dietary habits
(West et al. 2017). Exercise routines and requested programs will be tailored to the member's
fitness. Some apps like Myzone have set up their social platform to help connect the community,
allowing exercisers to introduce the feature of uploading photos of themselves to share their health
and fitness status like Instagram or Facebook apps (IHRSA, 2019). This helps them maintain,
encourage, and motivate each other to exercise and creates a community that connects fitness
enthusiasts and conveys a better message to the health consciousness of the society festival (Feld,
2019). Thirdly, the development of fitness applications has had more opportunities to work with
organizations, businesses, and health professionals to jointly develop effective policies and
nutrition regimes for users by category (Koetsier, 2020). In parallel with the rapid rise of virtual
technology devices such as fitness apps, sports organizations must constantly improve to stay
current and technologically innovative in the fitness market (Miloch et al., 2012; Cunningham et
al., 2018), increasing the revenue of businesses through sharing or suggesting links to advertise
for nutritional food stores, exercise equipment or hospital facilities serving health checkups
periodically healthy (Feld, 2019).

Despite many improvements and growing user base, fitness apps have to face some downsides
and risks (Bhargavaa & Ja vaid, 2020) such as surveillance by artificial intelligence fitness apps
has the potential to harm human beings health (Albu & Stanciu, 2015; Sullivan & Lachman,
2016; Reddy et al., 2019). Personal privacy is not guaranteed because of information leakage
(PrivacyRight, 2013). Furthermore, despite their widespread popularity among the fitness
community, fitness apps still fail to satisfy some aspects of the personal trainers at the centre
such as the use of psychology to encourage and support trainees; direct correction of basic errors
in physique and training methods; ensuring that injury occurs as little as possible (Koetsier, 2020).

4 Conflict and Co-operation

Despite technological and global advancements, the problem of fitness apps is a megatrend that
frequently ignites a bitter controversy amongst civilized human beings. While proponents
maintain that this practice brings about several benefits, opponents claim that there are potential
downsides.

On the one hand, one of today's top smartphone user concerns is "privacy" (Deasy, 2013). There
is no doubt that fitness app can bring several plus points. The first merit is that these apps can
provide users with personalised and thorough exercise recommendations in addition to tracking
and logging their health and fitness activities. Users may find it easier to stay motivated to reach
their fitness objectives with the support of fitness applications (David E.Conroy et al, 2014).
Another advantage is that the app may recommend proper exercises and meals before, during, and
after their period female clients based on the information of women's menstrual cycle so that,
avoiding overexertion that can lead to weakness and other problems (Metcalfe, 2022). On the
other hand, despite the positive aspects, its downsides also persist. The first minus point is that
fitness apps acquire access to more personal data in order to discover training patterns and measure
client success, data leakage is unavoidable (PrivacyRight, 2013). Almost every app collects and
transfers non-personally identifiable user data to third parties for analysis in order to "improve the
user experience" and for the makers' own marketing in order to reach the fitness goal (Koetsier,
2020). Another negative aspect is that fitness applications constituted the second-largest threat to
users' privacy by providing personal information to marketers for the goal of displaying
particularly targeted advertisements. To create new revenue, mobile apps, especially those that
you may download for free, rely on advertising, they may provide advertisers with personally
identifiable information or allow ad networks to monitor them, creating an increasing cyber
security threat (Azad, et al, 2016).

The second aspect the report wants to address is the "effectiveness". For starters, fitness
applications are reported to be incredibly convenient for users since they allow them to exercise
anywhere (Zheng, 2021), including at home, without having to go to the gym, according to Ms
Wiener. It also includes two or more varied activities to keep her from becoming bored. Agreeing
with Wiener, another exerciser, Bourlet, said the fitness app helps him in training and resting at
the right time. Despite their widespread popularity among the fitness community, however, fitness
apps still fall short of meeting the needs of personal trainers at the centre, such as the use of
psychology to encourage and support trainees, direct correction of basic errors in physique and
training methods, and minimizing injury (Metcalfe, 2022). To guarantee that training goals are
met, undesirable occurrences such as injury, illness, overreaching, and overtraining are avoided,
and to encourage long-term exercise motivation, training must be systematically monitored
(Wiemeyer, 2019). Not to mention the inadequate exercise regimen caused by the infrequent
updating of personal information. Because fitness apps do not accurately monitor health status or
lifestyle consumption, it is apparent that this will have severe repercussions for practitioners and
lead to health issues.

According to the World Health Organization, a lack of physical exercise is one of the leading
causes of cancer and poor health in 2018. Physical activity, such as suggested exercise, is a
beneficial intervention for preventing and treating many chronic diseases, as well as improving
mental health, quality of life, and well-being (Zhou, et al., 2019). As a result, health practitioners,
app developers, and national governments increasingly focus on developing and designing more
relevant, diverse fitness apps (Middelweerd al. et, 2014). To be more specific, the World Health
Organization brings together governments and professional groups from a variety of countries
that have produced laws and standards to encourage physical exercises, such as Australia, the
United Kingdom, the United States, China, and others ( Zhou, et al., 2019). Clinical scientists,
psychologists, and nutritionists can also offer ideas, analyze and develop exercise plans for
users, manage body weight, and maintain a healthy balance for fitness app users (Zheng, 2021;
Lovett, 2022). Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA) has established professional and
accredited standards for Accredited Exercise Scientists (AES), who have completed a bachelor's
degree in a relevant field and possess the knowledge and skills to apply exercise science to the
development of health and fitness apps (Zhou, et al., 2019). These "gig-economy" innovations, it
may be argued, are centred on the consumer market and align with self-tracking and self-
management trends, encouraging broad interaction through interactive design elements, fitness
apps, and nutrition departments (Zheng, 2021).

5 Discussion

As previously noted, despite the increased focus and improvement, fitness applications still have
drawbacks and paradoxes. To begin reducing unforeseen adverse outcomes such as customer
information leaking, the fitness app's manufacturer, in my opinion, should establish customer
information privacy rules with third parties, as well as the appropriate penalties. Furthermore,
rather than advertising nutritional information and exercise equipment, the fitness app might
include a distinct part of health care knowledge and nutrition for each body type for their reference
while still allowing for customisation of the workout.

Instead of focusing on calories, fitness software designers, developers, and researchers should
concentrate on assisting users in developing a good connection with food and their bodies, as well
as healthy eating patterns that include fruits, dairy, vegetables, protein, and oils. To be beneficial,
exercise must be combined with nutrition because nutrient density and portion sizes help to limit
added sugars and saturated fats while also lowering sodium intake. In addition, the producer of
each exercise video should include precise directions on body angle and breathing rate to ensure
proper movement execution and reduce muscle weariness after exercise. It's also worth mentioning
the diversification of languages so that practitioners worldwide can understand and implement
them.

Last but not least, the fitness application will refer to and set an alert to remind the customer to
exercise after capturing customer information and their health status. The customer's request for
quality input will be logged after each training session and enhanced quickly in subsequent training
sessions. Practitioners are also encouraged to rewrite their training diaries in the app to express
their individual opinions and goals. Because the most widely recommended ways of technology-
assisted weight loss are self-monitoring and the usage of scheduled exercise programs (Khaylis et
al. 2010)

6 Conclusion

As aforementioned, the existing data provides a concrete foundation to conclude that there are
several impacts caused by the spectacular soar of fitness apps’ development. In-app exercise has
been up against brick-and-mortar gyms in a fierce rivalry. The fitness sector has been changed by
information technology. From the above summary of the interdisciplinary development of the
fitness application field, it can be said that investing in this field is extremely wise. It can combine
artificial intelligence and personal trainers to sustain the future, civilize quality of life and the
global economy.
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8 Appendix

Link of the article: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-59651335