Question

why would you choose healthy living as the name of a mhealth app ?

how does mhealth help people to over come obesity ?

Answer 1

ANSWER:-

Although a clear majority of the studies examining effects of obesity-related mobile apps on body weight found that the intervention group lost more weight than the control group did, this finding was not universal. Smartphone-enabled mobile apps appeared to be more effective than PDA-enabled or armband apps, although only a single study evaluated the effectiveness of each of the latter two types of apps. Considering the now nearly ubiquitous nature of smartphones in the United States (there are an estimated 222.9 smartphone users in the United States in 2016, a figure that is projected to rise to 264.3 million by 2021), these positive findings regarding smartphone-enabled apps for obesity management are viewed as a positive sign for the future.

Effects of obesity-related apps on lifestyle behaviors were mixed, and the fact that such behaviors are surrogate measures of effectiveness must be kept in mind. The effects of mHealth apps on waste circumference and BMI were generally positive, as were the results measuring changes in dietary behavior as an output measure, but the variety of actual metrics used to measure changes in dietary behavior (e.g., consumption of consumption of fruits and vegetables, achievement of personal calorie goals, changes in daily caloric intake) make comparisons of the different studies problematic at best. Similar concerns existed with studies in which the outcome variable was changes in physical activity, especially because of the fact that increased physical activity, such as in the form of increased step count, was not necessarily associated with weight loss. This finding may be due to the general unreliability of most of these apps to count steps accurately.

Overall, the effects of obesity-related apps on patient satisfaction and adherence were positive and cost effective, and costs associated with the purchase and use of obesity-related apps were generally, but not always, relatively low, especially when compared with the costs associated with conventional behavioral weight loss therapy.

This literature review aimed to analyze results of all trials utilizing mobile technology directed at overweight and/or obese populations concerning their effectiveness and cost in comparison to conventional care. Consistent evidence suggested that mobile-based technological interventions have been efficacious in leading to changes in weight, BMI, waist circumference, and lifestyle behavior.

Lifestyle behaviors related to diet, physical activity, and sedentary behavior were mainly targeted. The interventions measuring changes in dietary intake and dietary behavior revealed an increase in fruit and vegetable intake and positive changes in eating behavior in all participants using the interventions under study. Overall, 80 percent of the studies that investigated caloric intake demonstrated a decrease in daily caloric intake. Furthermore, with these interventions, an increase in physical activity in the form of daily steps and exercise ranging from low to vigorous in intensity was observed in more than half of the studies.

Among the studies reviewed, we found minimal discussion or evaluation of the costs relative to the benefits of mHealth obesity interventions, with the exception of one study that found the estimated cost per participant per kilogram lost via technology-based approaches to be lower than the cost of traditional approaches. Few studies of the efficacy of mHealth interventions mentioned associated costs or made inferences regarding the inexpensiveness of their interventions without citing the actual cost or running a cost-effectiveness analysis. Many of the apps included in these studies were offered for free, while some had minimal costs associated with the SMS component of the intervention. A large portion of the mobile apps analyzed were free or inexpensive, permitting easy access to the general population.

This literature review was limited by the design and quality of included studies, the number of databases accessed, and the search strategy utilized. It was difficult to identify the potential impact of mHealth on obesity-related measures because of the wide variation in study design. Also, with respect to quality, several studies were performed on small sample sizes and were of short duration, so inferences should be drawn with caution. Although some studies did not find clinically significant results during their short trial duration, the possibility of a longer-duration intervention producing possible significant results cannot be ruled out. Another main concern was that the publications on the cost-effectiveness of mHealth interventions for adult obesity were sparse, which restricts the generalizability of the findings. Furthermore, mobile device use necessitates that the study population possess a certain education level and socioeconomic status. Additionally, as the studies were evaluated to establish relevancy, publication and research bias cannot be ruled out.

In general, few studies addressed the cost-effectiveness of mHealth technologies. Most studies conducted so far have focused on assessing the quality of the outcomes, and these studies should continue, especially considering the quickly evolving nature of market offerings. However, in order to assess their usability and value for the money, further studies analyzing the cost-effectiveness of mobile health interventions are warranted. Additionally, whether a combination of conventional and mobile interventions for obesity would offer greater benefit for the cost, compared with a mobile-only approach, needs to be further studied.

A 2016 presentation at the European Obesity Summit indicated that nearly 29,000 weight management apps were currently available online from five mobile app stores (the Apple store, the Google store, the Amazon store, the Blackberry store, and the Windows store), but only 17 of them (less than 0.5 percent) had been developed using any kind of verifiable professional expertise. Not only are better designed obesity-related apps needed, but many more well-designed studies are necessary to evaluate the market offerings in this fast-changing field.