Nutrition Management Miniprograms in WeChat: Evaluation of Functionality and Quality

With the rise in people's living standards and aging populations, a heightened emphasis has been placed in the field of medical and health care. In recent years, there has been a drastic increase in nutrition management in domestic research circles. The mobile nutritional health management platform based on WeChat miniprograms has been widely used to promote health and self-management and to monitor individual nutritional health status in China. Nevertheless, there has been a lack of comprehensive scientific evaluation regarding the functionality and quality of the diverse range of nutritional miniprograms that have surfaced in the market.

This study aimed to evaluate the functionality and quality of China's WeChat nutrition management miniprogram by using the User Version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale (uMARS).

This observational study involves quantitative methods. A keyword search for "nutrition," "diet," "food," and "meal" in Chinese or English was conducted on WeChat, and all miniprograms pertaining to these keywords were thoroughly analyzed. Then, basic information including name, registration date, update date, service type, user scores, and functional scores was extracted from January 2017 to November 2023. Rating scores were provided by users based on their experience and satisfaction with the use of the WeChat miniprogram, and functional scores were integrated and summarized for the primary functions of each miniprogram. Moreover, the quality of nutrition management applets was evaluated by 3 researchers independently using the uMARS.

Initially, 27 of 891 miniprograms identified were relevant to nutrition management. Among them, 85.2% (23/27) of them offered features for diet management, facilitating recording of daily dietary intake to evaluate nutritional status; 70.4% (19/27) provided resources for nutrition education and classroom instruction; 59.3% (16/27) included functionalities for exercise management, allowing users to record daily physical activity; and only 44.4% (12/27) featured components for weight management. The total quality score on the uMARS ranged 2.85-3.88 (median 3.38, IQR 3.14-3.57). Engagement scores on the uMARS varied from 2.00 to 4.33 (median 3.00, IQR 2.67-3.67). Functional dimension scores ranged from 3.00 to 4.00 (median 3.33, IQR 3.33-3.67), with a lower score of 2.67 and a higher score of 4.33 outside the reference range. Aesthetic dimension scores ranged from 2.33 to 4.67 (median 3.67, IQR 3.33-4.00). Informational dimension scores ranged from 2.33 to 4.67 (median 3.33, IQR 2.67-3.67).

Our findings from the uMARS highlight a predominant emphasis on health aspects over nutritional specifications in the app supporting WeChat miniprograms related to nutrition management. The quality of these miniprograms is currently at an average level, with considerable room for functional improvements in the future.