BackgroundIn recent years, obesity has become a serious public health crisis in the United States. Although the problem of obesity is being addressed through a variety of strategies, the use of mobile apps is a relatively new development that could prove useful in helping people to develop healthy dietary habits. Though such apps might lead to health behavior change, especially when relevant behavior change theory constructs are integrated into them, the mechanisms by which these apps facilitate behavior change are largely unknown.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to identify which behavior change mechanisms are associated with the use of diet- and nutrition-related health apps and whether the use of diet- and nutrition-related apps is associated with health behavior change.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was administered to a total of 217 participants. Participants responded to questions on demographics, use of diet and nutrition apps in the past 6 months, engagement and likability of apps, and changes in the participant’s dietary behaviors. Regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with reported changes in theory and separately for reported changes in actual behavior, after controlling for potential confounding variables.ResultsThe majority of study participants agreed or strongly agreed with statements regarding app use increasing their motivation to eat a healthy diet, improving their self-efficacy, and increasing their desire to set and achieve health diet goals. Additionally, majority of participants strongly agreed that using diet/nutrition apps led to changes in their behavior, namely increases in actual goal setting to eat a healthy diet (58.5%, 127/217), increases in their frequency of eating healthy foods (57.6%, 125/217), and increases in their consistency of eating healthy foods (54.4%, 118/217). Participants also responded favorably to questions related to engagement and likability of diet/nutrition apps. A number of predictors were also positively associated with diet-related behavior change. Theory (P<.001), app engagement (P<.001), app use (P<.003), and education (P<.010) were all positively associated with behavior change.ConclusionsStudy findings indicate that the use of diet/nutrition apps is associated with diet-related behavior change. Hence, diet- and nutrition-related apps that focus on improving motivation, desire, self-efficacy, attitudes, knowledge, and goal setting may be particularly useful. As the number of diet- and nutrition-related apps continues to grow, developers should consider integrating appropriate theoretical constructs for health behavior change into the newly developed mobile apps.

here are approximately 65,000 people living with HIV in Canada, the majority residing in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec. Nearly half of these infections (48%) are among gay and other men who have sex with men (MSM). 1,2 Other important groups include people who use injection drugs (IDUs), Aboriginal or First Nations people, and men and women from endemic countries. 1,2 MSM can be found in all three groups. On average, 2,300-4,300 new infections occur every year in Canada, with the number of infections exceeding the number of deaths. 1,2 Since it was first made widely available in mid-1996, highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has transformed HIV from a disease associated with high rates of mortality and short life span to one characterized by much lower rates of mortality where people can live for a much longer period of time and the infection can be treated as a manageable chronic condition. 3,4 HAART is made available in Canada through a variety of provincial and territorial programs, ranging from full coverage for all HIV-infected individuals in certain provinces to special coverage categories or coverage through programs with income-based deductibles. 1 The range of regimes available to those who need them also varies across the country. 5 We undertook this study to characterize temporal, regional and demographic differences in HIV-related mortality from 1987 to 2008. Previous work has shown that rates of mortality vary by province, gender and calendar year; however, most of this work was done prior to the onset of HAART. 6-8 To our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to examine trends across provincial and territorial lines in Canada since the development of HAART and over such an extended period of time. METHODS Our analysis of HIV-related mortality rates in Canada over a 22-year period was based upon established demographic methods. These techniques have been described in detail elsewhere, 6,7 but below we briefly outline how they were used in this study.

In India, women and children continue to experience food insecurity. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether the Rajasthan Nutrition Project (RNP) led to changes in 1) dietary habits and nutrition, and 2) indicators of gender equality, female autonomy, and empowerment. This study surveyed women belonging to self-help groups who were pregnant or who had young children. Over the course of the intervention, significant improvements were seen in the following indicators: breastfeeding within one hour of birth, exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months, food insecurity of children and mothers, household decision-making, communication, mobility, and domestic violence. These findings suggest that the RNP is a promising intervention for improving nutrition and female autonomy in Rajasthan, India. Additional research is needed to determine if the RNP would be equally as effective in other regions of India, or in populations outside of India.

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