Mobile Health Applications in Weight Management: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Context: Weight management is an effective strategy for controlling chronic disease and maintaining physical health, and research on this topic has risen dramatically over the past four decades. The present systematic literature review aimed to identify existing evidence on the efficacy of mobile health technology in facilitating weight management behaviors, such as healthy food consumption and physical activity. Evidence acquisition: A systematic search was conducted in Ovid MEDLINE and Ovid Psy-cINFO databases with the aim to identify studies published in peer-reviewed journal articles between 2012 and 2017. Evidence synthesis: A total of 39 studies were analyzed in spring 2018 and are presented here in terms of participant characteristics, effective technology components, additional treatments, impact on health-related behaviors, and treatment efficacy. Indicators of study quality and social validity are also provided. Conclusions: Mobile health apps are widely considered as satisfactory, easy to use, and helpful in the pursuit of weight loss goals by patients. The potential of mobile health apps in facilitating weight loss lies in their ability to increase treatment adherence through strategies such as self-monitoring. These findings indicate that satisfactory treatment adherence and consequent weight loss and maintenance are achieved in the presence of high levels of engagement with a mobile health app. The research quality assessment of RCTs reveals a great need for following international standards both when conducting and reporting research.

Lifestyle counselling by persuasive information and communications technology reduces prevalence of metabolic syndrome in a dose–response manner: a randomized clinical trial (PrevMetSyn)

“…There are thousands of weight loss and management apps but only a few have been tested in rigorous scientific trials [29,30]. However, in most cases software features, user experiences or actual outcomes have not been clearly reported.…”

“…Some studies have shown improved body composition and cardiometabolic risk through ICT intervention [29,31]. In most cases, however, only short-term ( 6 months) weight loss with the intervention-induced weight loss of small clinical significance has been studied.…”

Effect of Behavioral Weight Management Interventions Using Lifestyle mHealth Self-Monitoring on Weight Loss: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…While it is true that the boom in new technologies could be involved in the increased availability of energy dense and processed foods as well as the growing prevalence of sedentary behaviors, it is also true that they could play an important role in the management of health problems [8] Interventions based on new technologies could be easily developed and accepted for the management of weight disorders, since they represent an interesting tool to increase individuals' awareness of the quantity and quality of food consumed and the physical activity performed [9] Additionally, lifestyle mobile health (mHealth) self-monitoring [10] appears to have a greater effect on self-efficacy, patient motivation and adherence to treatment, in such a way that it may elicit a greater weight loss than conventional methods [11]. A recent systematic review concluded that mHealth applications may represent an effective strategy for weight loss, and, since the review included both observational and experimental studies, the authors called for an update, including a meta-analysis, when the number of intervention studies allowed for the pooled effect size (ES) of the effect of mHealth applications on weight loss to be estimated [12].…”

Mobile Apps for Weight Management: A Review of the Latest Evidence to Inform Practice

“…Another key strategy that has been highlighted is the social validity of the application in question which revolves around the user's perception and response to the application ( 31 ). Levels of satisfaction and engagement are key measurement parameters.…”