A mobile health application might be more effective than traditional interventions to help patients lose weight, according to a study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, Time‘s “Healthland” reports.
Study Details
For the study, researchers from the University of Leeds in in the United Kingdom divided 128 overweight volunteers into three groups, with each group using a different weight loss tool.
The three tools — which participants used over a six-month period — were:
At the end of the six-month period, researchers evaluated the participants’ adherence to their weight loss tool and measured changes in their weight (Sifferlin, “Healthland,” Time, 4/15).
How the App Works
The My Meal Mate app allows users to set a weight loss goal and record various health metrics. For example, users can record their:
The app provides graphs to track users’ progress and also offers additional support through weekly text messages tailored to the user (Slabodkin, FierceMobileHealthcare, 4/15).
Study Findings
Researchers found that study participants who used paper or online food diaries made entries about one per week. However, those using the My Meal Mate app used the tool every other day.
By the end of the six-month study period, the average amount of weight lost was:
Janet Cade — a professor at the University of Leeds’ School of Food Science and Nutrition — said, “Smartphone technology could be harnessed to promote health; generally people don’t know how many calories they are eating daily.” Cade added that the mobile app “really helped people monitor their food intake and resulted in an important amount of weight loss” (University of Leeds release, 4/15).
Source: iHealthBeat
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