Indians Adapt Fitness Apps To Their Own Lives

Fitness apps may track every step and calorie, but many Indians are not following them blindly. A study from the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT‑H), shows users are actively adapting app data to fit their own lives.

Presented at the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, the study finds that young urban Indians treat fitness tracking as flexible rather than fixed, often combining digital tools with personal judgement.

“Users are not simply following what apps tell them. They are constantly negotiating, adjusting and sometimes ignoring the data,” said Shivam Singh, one of the study’s authors. The research was co‑authored by Raagav Ramakrishnan and Chetan Mahipal under the guidance of Prof. Nimmi Rangaswamy.

The study describes this behaviour as “bricolage”, where people build their own systems. Many use smartwatches only for basic tracking like steps, while relying on handwritten notes, phone timers or progress photos for the rest. “They switch between tools depending on what works for them at that moment. There is no single system they fully rely on,” said Prof. Rangaswamy.

A major finding is that fitness apps often fail to reflect Indian realities. Diet, climate and social routines frequently do not align with what apps are designed for. “Fitness is not always tech‑driven or quantitative. There is a lot of subjectivity in what makes you feel fit,” Prof. Rangaswamy told DC. Because of this gap, users interpret data rather than obey it. They adjust workouts based on heat, fatigue or lifestyle, even if the app suggests otherwise. In many cases, tracking becomes intuitive, with users relying on awareness instead of strict numbers.

The study also finds that cost is not the main barrier. Even with access to advanced tools, users prefer simple and familiar methods. “More access does not mean people will follow the app more closely. It actually leads to more personalised ways of using it,” Singh said.

The findings raise several questions for global tech companies. Most fitness apps are built for Western users who are expected to follow data strictly. But in India, fitness is shaped by food habits, weather and social life. “In Indian contexts, data is not blindly obeyed. It is debated, adapted and sometimes ignored,” Rangaswamy said.

The study suggests that for fitness apps to work better in India, they must adapt to local behaviours rather than expect users to change.