Effect of mHealth With Offline Antiobesity Treatment in a Community-Based Weight Management Program: Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background Weight loss interventions using mobile phone apps have recently shown promising results. Objective This study aimed to analyze the short-term weight loss effect of a mobile coaching intervention when it is integrated with a local public health care center and a regional hospital’s antiobesity clinic as a multidisciplinary model. Methods A total of 150 overweight or obese adults signed up to complete an 8-week antiobesity intervention program with human coaching through a mobile platform. Paired t tests and multiple linear regression analysis were used to identify the intervention factors related to weight change. Results Among the 150 participants enrolled in this study, 112 completed the 8-week weight loss intervention. Weight (baseline: mean 77.5 kg, SD 12.9; after intervention: mean 74.8 kg, SD 12.6; mean difference −2.73 kg), body mass index, waist circumference, fat mass (baseline: mean 28.3 kg, SD 6.6; after intervention: mean 25.7 kg, SD 6.3; mean difference −2.65 kg), and fat percentage all showed a statistically significant decrease, and metabolic equivalent of task (MET) showed a statistically significant increase after intervention. In multiple linear regression analysis, age (beta=.07; P=.06), △MET (beta=−.0009; P=.10), number of articles read (beta=−.01; P=.04), and frequency of weight records (beta=−.05; P=.10; R2=0.4843) were identified as significant factors of weight change. Moreover, age (beta=.06; P=.03), sex (female; beta=1.16; P=.08), △MET (beta=−.0009; P<.001), and number of articles read (beta=−.02; P<.001; R2=0.3728) were identified as significant variables of fat mass change. Conclusions The multidisciplinary approach, combining a mobile health (mHealth) care app by health care providers, was effective for short-term weight loss. Additional studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of mHealth care apps in obesity treatment.

Understanding Time Series Patterns of Weight and Meal History Reports in Mobile Weight Loss Intervention Programs: Data-Driven Analysis

“…The mobile intervention program for this study was delivered through a commercially available mobile coaching program called Noom [ 25 ]. During the 16-week program, users were asked to log their meals, exercise, and weight data using this app [ 25 ].…”

“…The mobile intervention program for this study was delivered through a commercially available mobile coaching program called Noom [ 25 ]. During the 16-week program, users were asked to log their meals, exercise, and weight data using this app [ 25 ]. In-app articles about healthy dietary intake and promotions to encourage physical activities were provided on a daily basis [ 25 ].…”

“…During the 16-week program, users were asked to log their meals, exercise, and weight data using this app [ 25 ]. In-app articles about healthy dietary intake and promotions to encourage physical activities were provided on a daily basis [ 25 ]. The articles were adapted by physicians, clinical dietitians, and clinical psychologists and based on studies provided by the American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.…”

“…In other words, BMI values indicate whether a person is “underweight,” “healthy,” “overweight,” or “obese” [ 4 , 14 , 28 ]. Because of its ease of interpretation and satisfactory explanatory power, BMI has been used instead of basic weight measurements for many diet-related studies on web and mobile weight tracking environments [ 4 , 14 , 25 , 31 - 33 ].…”

Lifelog Data-Based Prediction Model of Digital Health Care App Customer Churn: Retrospective Observational Study

“…This study was conducted using data from Noom (Noom Inc), a global digital health care app that provides lifestyle-related functions, such as food logs, exercise logs, weight logs, in-app group activities, and in-app articles. Users are encouraged to log their food intake, exercise every day, and record their weight every week [ 12 ]. Users of this digital health care service can also send messages to personal coaches to ask questions about dietary intake, exercise, mindset, or program descriptions.…”