Learn about the flu shot, COVID-19 vaccine, and our masking policy »
New to MyHealth?
Manage Your Care From Anywhere.
Access your health information from any device with MyHealth. You can message your clinic, view lab results, schedule an appointment, and pay your bill.
ALREADY HAVE AN ACCESS CODE?
DON'T HAVE AN ACCESS CODE?
NEED MORE DETAILS?
MyHealth for Mobile
Get the iPhone MyHealth app »
Get the Android MyHealth app »
Abstract
The use of smartphone applications (apps) to assist with weight management is increasingly prevalent, but the quality of these apps is not well characterized.The goal of the study was to evaluate diet/nutrition and anthropometric tracking apps based on incorporation of features consistent with theories of behavior change.A comparative, descriptive assessment was conducted of the top-rated free apps in the Health and Fitness category available in the iTunes App Store. Health and Fitness apps (N=200) were evaluated using predetermined inclusion/exclusion criteria and categorized based on commonality in functionality, features, and developer description. Four researchers then evaluated the two most popular apps in each category using two instruments: one based on traditional behavioral theory (score range: 0-100) and the other on the Fogg Behavioral Model (score range: 0-6). Data collection and analysis occurred in November 2012.Eligible apps (n=23) were divided into five categories: (1) diet tracking; (2) healthy cooking; (3) weight/anthropometric tracking; (4) grocery decision making; and (5) restaurant decision making. The mean behavioral theory score was 8.1 (SD=4.2); the mean persuasive technology score was 1.9 (SD=1.7). The top-rated app on both scales was Lose It! by Fitnow Inc.All apps received low overall scores for inclusion of behavioral theory-based strategies.
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.amepre.2013.07.005
View details for Web of Science ID 000325910800007
View details for PubMedID 24139771