The (over)use of SMART goals for physical activity promotion: A narrative review and critique

Figures & data

Table 1. Examples of how SMART goals are missing important additional considerations.

Example SMART goal	Evidence of SMART criteria	Additional considerations
For the week of the 1st of April, I aim to increase my daily average step count compared to the previous week	Specific: average weekly step count	Positively valenced; approach; intrapersonal, short-term
	Measurable: average daily step count in relation to previous week
	Achievable: increase compared to previous week
	Realistic: increase compared to previous week
	Timebound: week of the 1st of April
By the end of the year, I aim to avoid finishing last place in my walking group for daily average step counts	Specific: placing in walking group	Negatively valenced; avoidance; normative; long-term
	Measurable: average daily step count; placing in walking group
	Achievable: avoid recording lowest step count
	Realistic: avoid recording lowest step count
	Timebound: by end of year

Table 2. SMART goal interpretations reported in studies included in the review.

SMART letter (variations)	Label (number of citing studies)^1
S (1)	Specific (k = 101)
M (3)	Measurable (k = 99), meaningful (k = 1); manageable (k = 1)
A (8)	Achievable (k = 52), attainable (k = 31), acceptable (k = 6), action-oriented (k = 5), assignable (k = 3), action-based (k = 2), agreed (k = 1), attractive (k = 1)
R (4)	Realistic (k = 72), relevant (k = 27), results-focused (k = 1), recorded (k = 1)
T (18)	Time-bound (k = 25), timely (k = 25), time-based (k = 11), timed (k = 10), time-specific (k = 6), time-framed (k = 5), time-related (k = 5), time time-targeted (k = 3), time (k = 2), time-limited (k = 2), timeline (k = 1), with a timeline (k = 1), have a target date (k = 1), time-oriented (k = 1), sensitive (k = 1), with a given time frame (k = 1), with time frames (k = 1)

Notes: (1) 103 studies in our search reported information on at least two letters of the SMART acronym, but six of these studies did not report all five letters; (2) two studies reported two interpretations for some letters (Armburst et al., 2015; Rieder et al., 2018)

Table 3. Summary of issues and misconceptions in the use of SMART goals for physical activity promotion.

Problem		Explanation of Problem
1	The SMART heuristic is not based on scientific theory	The SMART heuristic does not explain how such goals are proposed to work, and does not consider moderators that denote when a SMART goal is (and is not) appropriate. Therefore, it is less likely to produce desired outcomes (Glanz & Rimer, 2005).
2	Aspects of the SMART heuristic are not consistent with empirical evidence	Against common understanding, physical activity goals do not need to be specific to be effective (McEwan et al., 2016), while challenging/difficult goals are typically considered to be more effective than ‘Achievable’ goals (Locke & Latham, 2013, 2015).
3	The SMART heuristic does not consider what type of goal is set	There are many types of goal (Grant, 2012), any of which could be stated according to the SMART heuristic, and the wrong type of goal in the wrong context can be detrimental to the individual and their attempts to achieve the desired behaviour (Latham & Locke, 2006; Ordóñez et al., 2009).
4	The SMART heuristic is not applied consistently	There is no single, agreed, consistently-applied approach to SMART goals (Levack et al., 2015; Wade, 2009). Over 34 terms were identified in this review, for example, R can stand for realistic, relevant, results-focused, or recorded, while A can stand for action-oriented, assignable, attainable, or achievable
5	There is insufficient detail in the SMART criteria	For example, there is little guidance around optimal timeframes when setting goals. Daily, and daily plus weekly, goals were found to be effective for increasing physical activity, but weekly goals were not (McEwan et al., 2016).
6	There is redundancy/repetition in the SMART criteria	Some commonly-used criteria stand for the same things, such as ‘achievable’ and ‘realistic’, and ‘specific’ and ‘measurable’ and therefore do not need to be stated twice (Levack, 2018)
7	The SMART heuristic is not being used as originally intended	It is typically assumed that all aspects of the SMART acronym should be incorporated into a physical activity goal, however Doran (1981) originally stated that: ‘it should also be understood that the suggested acronym doesn’t mean every objective will have all five criteria’ (p.36).
8	SMART goals have potentially harmful effects for insufficiently active individuals	Studies have found SMART goals can lead to inferior and potentially detrimental outcomes for insufficiently active participants, including significantly less physical activity, enjoyment, pleasure, motivation, and perceptions of performance, as well as significantly greater pressure/tension (Hawkins et al., 2020; Swann et al., 2020a).

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