Charlotte Van Tuyckom

Since 2013, Charlotte Van Tuyckom is affiliated with Howest School of Applied Sciences (Bruges, Belgium), Department Sport and movement sciences. Previously, she worked as healthcare consultant at InSites Consulting and taught sport- and health sociology and statistics at Ghent University, Sporthochschule Köln, WHO Geneva and Essex University. She published several articles and books in this domain.

Her current research interests include the impact of technology on the field of sport, and gamification in particular. Charlotte holds a Phd in Sport Sociology, is Master in Sociology and Master in Quantiative Analysis. She has a passion for science communication and the world of statistics and data. In her free time she likes to run and cycle (but not combined) and you can always invite her for a game of tennis.

PRESENTATION 2019

All puppies and sunshine?! Some insights on the ‘dark side’ of gamification in health and fitness apps

Wearable technologies are a growing industry with significant potential in different aspects of health and fitness, and gamification of health and fitness has recently become a popular field of research. Gamification claims to transpose game mechanics and elements to non-game contexts as a way to motivate people and ultimately induce positive (health) behavioral changes. But how effective is this “exergamification”? Do apps such as Strava, Runkeeper or Fitocracy -to name only a few- really yield intrinsic motivation by its users? Does gamification for health promotion foster long-term engagement or is it merely a craze?

In this presentation, we will touch upon some of the limitations of gamification in the realm of health and fitness.