Lose Weight Through Your Cell Phone? Mobile Apps Help You Shed Pounds

Using mobile phone applications to help lose weight may provide a useful tool to aid in the obesity crisis, according to a recent study.

The objective of the study was to both develop and evaluate a weight-loss intervention that delivered certain applications to individuals that would help with new diet procedures. Researchers developed and tested a mobile phone application (app) to support individuals embarking on a partial meal replacement program (MRP).

Fifty-eight overweight or obese women were randomly allocated for an eight-week trial to one of two study groups: An intervention group and a control group. The intervention group was given an MRP Support app, while the control group received a static app based on the information available with the MRP.

Objective data suggested that users of the Support app were more engaged than those using the control app.  Women in the intervention group reported a greater increase in positive affect (i.e. mood) than those in the control group.

At week 8, those in the control group reported a greater decrease in the effort they were willing to put into staying on the diet than those who received the Support app  Preliminary data suggests that the MRP Support app has the potential to increase positive mood and maintain motivation during a weight loss programme. This study indicates that the support app could be a useful adjunct to existing MRPs for psychological outcomes.

The findings from this study were published in the Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare.