mHealth Apps Targeting Obesity and Overweight in Young People: App Review and Analysis

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Behavioral Science
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Overweight and obesity affect over a quarter of young people, necessitating effective interventions.
• Mobile health (mHealth) apps offer a promising avenue for health behavior change in adolescents and young adults.
• Low long-term user adherence remains a significant challenge for mHealth interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze existing mHealth apps for obesity and overweight management in young people.
• To develop guidelines for integrating user interface design patterns (UIDPs) with behavior change techniques (BCTs) in mHealth apps.
• To enhance the impact and retention of mHealth interventions for obese youth.

Main Methods:

• A systematic search of app stores identified 17 mHealth apps for analysis.
• The study analyzed the inclusion of BCTs and their supporting UIDPs within these apps.
• Guidelines were developed based on findings and demonstrated using a prototype app.

Main Results:

• Only half of the studied mHealth apps implemented available BCTs.
• A limited subset of implemented BCTs were supported by UIDPs.
• Proposed guidelines link specific BCTs with effective UIDPs for young users.

Conclusions:

• The integration of BCTs and UIDPs in mHealth apps for young people is currently underutilized.
• Developed guidelines aim to improve the usability and effectiveness of mHealth apps for behavior change.
• Future work includes developing and validating the 'Morphe' prototype app.