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Mobile Apps to Improve Health Parameters in Healthy Adults: Systematic Review
Gaia Leuzzi1,2, Mirko Job1, Carola Cosentino3
1Department of Neurosciences, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, University of Genoa, Campus of Savona, Savona, Italy, 39 019 219 45703.
JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth
|January 16, 2026
Summary
Mobile health apps show potential for improving health, but current evidence is insufficient. More rigorous research is needed to confirm their effectiveness for prevention and health improvements in healthy adults.
Area of Science:
- Digital health interventions
- Mobile health (mHealth) applications
- Preventive healthcare strategies
Background:
- Mobile health (mHealth) apps are increasingly proposed as tools to enhance health outcomes, including physical activity and diet.
- While promising for both healthy individuals and those with chronic conditions, the effectiveness of mHealth apps remains unclear.
- Previous research has explored various app-based health interventions across diverse populations and settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review the effectiveness of mobile apps in improving health variables like daily steps and aerobic capacity in healthy adults.
- To assess the potential of mHealth apps for physical activity, diet, or combined interventions aimed at prevention.
- To determine if apps can be effectively adopted in health interventions for disease prevention.
Main Methods:
- A systematic review of randomized controlled trials was conducted using Medline, Cochrane Library-CENTRAL, and Embase databases.
- Included studies compared interventions with and without mobile app integration or compared app-based interventions against standard care.
- Risk of Bias tool 2.0 and GRADE criteria were used to assess study quality and certainty of evidence.
Main Results:
- Only two studies met the inclusion criteria for mobile apps targeting physical activity; no studies were found for diet or combined interventions.
- The included studies exhibited low quality of evidence due to high risk of bias, missing data, and deviations from protocols.
- The effectiveness of mobile apps for improving diet, physical activity, or their combination in healthy adults could not be determined.
Conclusions:
- Despite the proliferation of mHealth apps, this review could not confirm their effectiveness for health improvement or prevention in healthy individuals.
- Current evidence is insufficient to support the use of mobile apps as adjunct tools in preventive health strategies.
- There is a critical need for high-quality research with robust methodologies to establish the efficacy of mHealth apps across different health domains and populations.
