A Systematic Review on What Features Should Be Supported by Fitness Apps and Wearables to Help Users Overcome Obesity

Alturki, Malak

doi:10.15623/ijret.2016.0509032

Cited by 16 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 35 publications

(46 reference statements)

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“…The Akser Waznk app aims to facilitate the change of unhealthy lifestyle behaviors within the Saudi community by identifying and implementing the motivational features [16], considering both the Saudi social and cultural norms [20-22] and usability attributes [21,22]. As stated in previous studies, other Arabic weight-loss apps do not comply with the needed evidence-informed practices for weight-loss management [19,21], and the research and development of Akser Waznk app aim to effectively contribute to such an issue.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The app contains numerous tools and features to address all the 13 evidence-informed practices for weight-loss interventions [17] (Table 1). The development of the app also considers the results and recommendations of both the experimental usability testing for 2 weight-loss apps [21,22] and the study that determines the motivational features to overcome obesity [16].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies state that adding rewards to goal-setting features is a very useful way of increasing motivation and task performance [16] because they give a sense of achievement and satisfaction to the user and that leads to improved motivation and the achievement of fitness goals. Therefore, the gamification feature was implemented in this app.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The requirements and suggested features for an effective weight-loss app were based on both the feedback and recommendations gained from the target group [16,21,22] as well as all aspects of evidence-informed practices [17,18]. A number of existing weight-loss apps implement behavior change techniques (BCTs), and it is believed that BCTs can be helpful in increasing activities and healthy behaviors [51].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, it was important to identify what features would help and encourage people with obesity to be active, change their lifestyle, and keep them motivated to overcome obesity. It was stated that goal-setting, monitoring, reminders, gamification, and rewards are features that can have a positive effect on overcoming obesity [16]. The second aspect to consider was the availability of effective weight loss apps, particularly in the Arabic language.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Development of an Arabic Weight-Loss App Akser Waznk: Qualitative Results

Alturki¹,

Gay²

2019

JMIR Form Res

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Background Obesity and its related illnesses are a major health problem around the world. Saudi Arabia has one of the highest national obesity rates globally; however, it is not easy to intervene to prevent obesity and becoming overweight owing to Saudi Arabia’s cultural and social norms, and linguistic barriers. In recent years, there has been an exponential growth in the usage of smartphones and apps in Saudi Arabia. These could be used as a cost-effective tool to facilitate the delivery of behavior-modification interventions for obese and overweight people. There are a variety of health and fitness apps that claim to offer lifestyle-modification tools. However, these do not identify the motivational features required to overcome obesity, consider the evidence-based practices for weight management, or enhance the usability of apps by considering usability attributes. Objective This study aimed to explore the opportunity and the need to develop an Arabic weight-loss app that provides localized content and addresses the issues with existing apps identified here. This study has explained the steps taken to design an Arabic weight-loss app that was developed to facilitate the adjustment of key nutritional and physical activities and behaviors, which considers the social and cultural norms of Saudi Arabia. Methods Qualitative studies were conducted with 26 obese Saudi Arabians, who tested the level of usability of 2 weight-loss apps and then provided feedback and recommendations. The app Akser Waznk is an interactive, user-friendly app designed primarily for iPhones. It has several features intended to assist users to monitor and track their food consumption and physical activities. The app provides personalized diet and weight loss advice. Unique features such as Let’s Walk are designed to motivate users to walk more. An augmented reality function is implemented to provide information regarding fitness equipment, fruits, and vegetables. The app uses behavior-change techniques to increase activities and healthy behaviors and evidence-informed practices for weight-loss management. The Akser Waznk app considers user privacy and data security by applying a number of guidelines and procedures. Results The development of the app took 26 months. In all, 7 experts (5 dietitians, and 2 physical activity professionals) evaluated the app’s contents. Moreover, 10 potential users (5 men and 5 women) tested the app’s level of usability, its features, and performance during a pilot study. They reported that the app’s design is interactive, and the motivational features are user-friendly. Conclusions Mobile technology, such as mobile apps, has the potential to be an effective tool that facilitates the changing of unhealthy lifestyle behaviors within the Saudi community. To be successful, the target group, the usability, motivational features, and social and cultural norms m...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The Development of an Arabic Weight-Loss App Akser Waznk: Qualitative Results

Alturki¹,

Gay²

2019

JMIR Form Res

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Usability Attributes for Mobile Applications: A Systematic Review

Alturki

2019

EAI/Springer Innovations in Communication and Computing

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The usability of mobile applications (apps) is an emerging area of research because of the increasing use of mobile devices around the world. App development is challenging because each application has its own purpose and each individual user has different needs and expectations from the apps. There are various apps available for each purpose and the success of the application depends on its usefulness. This paper presents a systematic review of some of the most contemporary apps and highlights their usability attributes. It discusses usability models, frameworks and guidelines outlined in previous research for designing apps with enhanced usability characteristics. Based on this research, comprehensive guidelines for mobile apps' usability can then be provided.

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