  Despite the indisputable personal and societal benefits of regular physical
activity, a large portion of the population does not follow the recommended
guidelines, harming their health and wellness. The World Health Organization
has called upon governments, practitioners, and researchers to accelerate
action to address the global prevalence of physical inactivity. To this end, an
emerging wave of research in ubiquitous computing has been exploring the
potential of interactive self-tracking technology in encouraging positive
health behavior change. Numerous findings indicate the benefits of
personalization and inclusive design regarding increasing the motivational
appeal and overall effectiveness of behavior change systems, with the ultimate
goal of empowering and facilitating people to achieve their goals. However,
most interventions still adopt a "one-size-fits-all" approach to their design,
assuming equal effectiveness for all system features in spite of individual and
collective user differences. To this end, we analyze a corpus of 12 years of
research in self-tracking technology for health behavior change, focusing on
physical activity, to identify those design elements that have proven most
effective in inciting desirable behavior across diverse population segments. We
then provide actionable recommendations for designing and evaluating behavior
change self-tracking technology based on age, gender, occupation, fitness, and
health condition. Finally, we engage in a critical commentary on the diversity
of the domain and discuss ethical concerns surrounding tailored interventions
and directions for moving forward.
