Insights From Google Play Store User Reviews for the Development of Weight Loss Apps: Mixed-Method Analysis

Frie, Kerstin; Hartmann‐Boyce, Jamie; Jebb, Susan A.; Albury, Charlotte; Nourse, Rebecca; Aveyard, Paul

doi:10.2196/mhealth.8791

Cited by 35 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Some participants wanted mobile app access to include more of this personalized information currently available only on the eaTracker ® website. This finding aligns with previous studies in this area which have found that having access to numbers and graphs about progress in a nutrition and/or physical activity behavior change mobile app is generally well-liked and can be motivational [ 21 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ]. In addition to having the ability to personalize which eaTracker ® feedback information is displayed on the mobile app, personalization of other aspects of the app (e.g., automated recall of favorite foods) (as has also been found in other related studies [ 28 ]) is also desired.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

A Qualitative Evaluation of the eaTracker® Mobile App

et al. 2018

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Background: eaTracker® is Dietitians of Canada’s online nutrition/activity self-monitoring tool accessible via website and mobile app. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the eaTracker® mobile app based on user perspectives. Methods: One-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with adult eaTracker® mobile app users who had used the app for ≥ 1 week within the past 90 days. Participants (n = 26; 89% female, 73% 18–50 years) were recruited via email. Interview transcripts were coded using first level coding and pattern coding, where first level codes were grouped according to common themes. Results: Participants mentioned several positive aspects of the mobile app which included: (a) Dashboard displays; (b) backed by dietitians; (c) convenience and ease of use; (d) portion size entry; (e) inclusion of food and physical activity recording; and (f) ability to access more comprehensive information via the eaTracker® website. Challenges with the mobile app included: (a) Search feature; (b) limited food database; (c) differences in mobile app versus website; and (d) inability to customize dashboard displayed information. Suggestions were provided to enhance the app. Conclusion: This evaluation provides useful information to improve the eaTracker® mobile app and also for those looking to develop apps to facilitate positive nutrition/physical activity behavior change.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

A Qualitative Evaluation of the eaTracker® Mobile App

et al. 2018

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“…In the Zheng et al (2018)'s trial, participants specifically stated that they found the weight-tracking component of the intervention very useful as it allowed them to get an overview of their weight loss progress. An analysis of user reviews of weight-tracking apps found that the visualization of progress and feedback on weight loss success provides motivation and keeps users on track with their goals (Frie et al, 2017). In the present study, fewer than half the participants tracked their weight, but nearly all stated that it would have been useful to do so.…”

Section: Experiences With Daily Weighingmentioning

confidence: 57%

Analysing self-regulatory behaviours in response to daily weighing: a think-aloud study with follow-up interviews

Frie

Hartmann‐Boyce

Pilbeam

et al. 2019

Psychology & Health

Self Cite

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Objective: To examine the extent to which people who are trying to lose weight naturally self-regulate in response to self-weighing and to identify barriers to self-regulation. Design/Main Outcome Measures: Twenty-four participants, who were overweight and trying to lose weight, recorded their thoughts during daily weighing for eight weeks. Semi-structured follow-up interviews assessed participant experiences. Qualitative analysis identified steps of the selfregulation process and barriers to self-regulation. Exploratory regression analysis assessed the relationship between the self-regulation steps and weight loss. Results: On 90% of 498 occasions, participants compared their weight measurement to an expectation or goal, and on 58% they reflected on previous behaviour. Action planning only occurred on 20% of occasions, and specific action planning was rare (6%). Only specific action planning significantly predicted weight loss (À2.1 kg per 1 SD increase in the predictor, 95% CI ¼ À3.9, À0.3). Thematic analysis revealed that barriers to the interpretation of daily weight changes were difficulties in understanding day-today fluctuations, losing the overview of trends, forgetting to weigh, and forgetting previous measurements. Conclusion: Specific action planning can lead to weight loss, but is rare in a naturalistic setting. Barriers to self-regulation relate to the interpretation of weight changes.

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“…It is well known that user experience is a critical component to the success of mHealth apps and that apps must appeal to the motivations of the user [ 28 ]. For example, the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) suggests that users’ expectations of how an app will perform and how much effort it takes to use the app will influence their intentions and behaviors [ 29 - 31 ]. Future iterations of this app will use the current findings and a model-driven approach (eg, the UTAUT) to inform the development of the next version of the app to be used as a comparator in a randomized control trial.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Novel Educational Control Group Mobile App for Meditation Interventions: Single-Group Feasibility Trial

Huberty¹,

Eckert²,

Puzia³

et al. 2020

JMIR Form Res

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Background Smartphone ownership is becoming ubiquitous among US adults, making the delivery of health interventions via a mobile app (ie, mobile health [mHealth]) attractive to many researchers and clinicians. Meditation interventions have become popular and have been delivered to study participants via mobile apps to improve a range of health outcomes in both healthy adults and those with chronic diseases. However, these meditation mHealth interventions have been limited by a lack of high-quality control groups. More specifically, these studies have lacked consistency in their use of active, time-matched, and attention-matched control groups. Objective The purpose of this study is to beta test a novel health education podcast control condition delivered via a smartphone app that would be a strong comparator to be used in future studies of app-based meditation interventions. Methods Patients with myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) cancer were recruited nationally. Upon enrollment, participants were informed to download the investigator-developed health education podcast app onto their mobile phone and listen to ~60 min/week of cancer-related educational podcasts for 12 weeks. The benchmarks for feasibility included ≥70% of participants completing ≥70% of the prescribed 60 min/week of podcasts, ≥70% of participants reporting that they were satisfied with the intervention, and ≥70% of participants reporting that they enjoyed the health education podcasts. Results A total of 96 patients with MPN were enrolled in the study; however, 19 never began the intervention. Of the 77 patients who participated in the intervention, 39 completed the entire study (ie, sustained participation through the follow-up period). Participation averaged 103.2 (SD 29.5) min/week. For 83.3% (10/12) of the weeks, at least 70% of participants completed at least 70% of their total prescribed use. Almost half of participants reported that they enjoyed the health education podcasts (19/39, 48.7%) and were satisfied with the intervention (17/39, 43.6%). There were no significant changes in cancer-related outcomes from baseline to postintervention. Conclusions A 12-week, health education podcast mobile app was demanded but not accepted in a sample of patients with cancer. Using the mobile app was not associated with significant changes in cancer-related symptoms. Based on findings from this study, a health education podcast mobile app may be a feasible option as a time- and attention-matched control group for efficacy trials with more extensive formative research for the content of the podcasts and its acceptability by the specific population. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03907774; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03907774

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Insights From Google Play Store User Reviews for the Development of Weight Loss Apps: Mixed-Method Analysis

Cited by 35 publications

References 32 publications

A Qualitative Evaluation of the eaTracker® Mobile App

A Qualitative Evaluation of the eaTracker® Mobile App

Analysing self-regulatory behaviours in response to daily weighing: a think-aloud study with follow-up interviews

A Novel Educational Control Group Mobile App for Meditation Interventions: Single-Group Feasibility Trial

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