Evaluating mobile weight loss apps on use of evidence-based behavioral strategies

Research finds most are significantly lacking in helping users change lifestyles

2013-10-08

(Press-News.org) WORCESTER, MA -- In a new study published by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, UMass Medical School behavioral psychologist and weight loss expert Sherry Pagoto, PhD, and colleagues find that mobile apps to help people lose weight are lacking when it comes to strategies for changing behaviors. "Apps do include evidence-based behavioral strategies, but only a narrow range," said Dr. Pagoto, associate professor of medicine at UMass Medical School. "Strategies that often were missing are ones that help patients with adherence and motivation." In the study "Evidence-based strategies in weight-loss mobile apps," published online Oct. 8, Pagoto and colleagues rated 30 of the most popular mobile weight-loss apps on the market for inclusion of 20 evidence-based behavioral strategies. Most of the apps evaluated include few or no behavioral weight-loss strategies—28 out of 30 included only 25 percent of the strategies or less. Even the top two apps include only 65 percent of the 20 strategies. Behavioral weight-loss strategies that are evidence-based—meaning they have been scientifically researched and found to be effective—include stimulus willpower control, problem solving, stress reduction and relapse prevention. The 20 strategies that the study rated are those in the Centers for Disease Control's evidence-based Diabetes Prevention Plan, designed to help participants make modest behavior changes in order to lose 5 to 7 percent of their body weight. Pagoto's team was also interested in determining whether apps incorporate technology features to enhance behavioral strategies. "On the bright side, in terms of how apps are using technology, they're doing some really interesting things," Pagoto noted. Enhancements include barcode scanners that can be used in a supermarket to instantly get products' nutritional information; social networks where users can encourage and support each other; email and text reminders; and calendars for scheduling exercise and tracking food intake. The researchers' final question was "Do you get what you pay for?" "The answer is no," said Pagoto. "Free apps were just as likely as paid apps to include evidence-based strategies. That's the good news for the consumer." The two top-rated apps, according to the study, are MyNetDiary PRO ($3.99,) and MyNetDiary (free.) "Where we're hoping the next generation of apps can do better is in incorporating some of those strategies that help the user who might not be so good about entering their diet every day and staying on track with their goals," Pagoto concluded.

### About the University of Massachusetts Medical School The University of Massachusetts Medical School, one of the fastest growing academic health centers in the country, has built a reputation as a world-class research institution, consistently producing noteworthy advances in clinical and basic research. The Medical School attracts more than $250 million in research funding annually, 80 percent of which comes from federal funding sources. The mission of the Medical School is to advance the health and well-being of the people of the commonwealth and the world through pioneering education, research, public service and health care delivery with its clinical partner, UMass Memorial Health Care. For more information, visit http://www.umassmed.edu

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

'Brain training' may boost working memory, but not intelligence

2013-10-08

Brain training games, apps, and websites are popular and it's not hard to see why — who wouldn't want to give their mental abilities a boost? New research suggests that brain training programs might strengthen your ability to hold information in mind, but they won't bring any benefits to the kind of intelligence that helps you reason and solve problems. The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. "It is hard to spend any time on the web and not see an ad for a website that promises to train your brain, ...

What evolved first -- a dexterous hand or an agile foot?

2013-10-07

Resolving a long-standing mystery in human evolution, new research from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute indicates that early hominids developed finger dexterity and tool use ability before the development of bipedal locomotion. Combining monkey and human behavior, brain imaging, and fossil evidence, a research team led by neurobiologist Dr. Atsushi Iriki and including Dr. Gen Suwa, an anthropologist from the University of Tokyo Museum, have overturned the common assumption that manual dexterity evolved after the development of bipedal locomotion freed hominid hands ...

Glutamatergic agents show promise for mood and anxiety disorders

2013-10-07

BARCELONA, SPAIN (7 October 2013) – Glutamergic agents may one day be used as a novel treatment for mood and anxiety disorders, new research presented at the 26th ECNP Congress suggests. "Our results suggest the glutamatergic system is a truly viable target for antidepressant Profug development," says Professor Gerard Sanacora, from the Yale School of Medicine, Connecticut, US. In his talk, Professor Sanacora detailed how he and his team have used animal models to help understand how stress and other mechanisms that can disrupt glutamatergic function can lead to molecular, ...

Epigenetic markers shows promise in Alzheimer's disease

2013-10-07

BARCELONA, SPAIN (6 October 2013) – Increasing evidence suggests that epigenetic regulation is associated with the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and targeting it may one day lead to novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies, research suggests. Scientists at The School for Mental Health and Neuroscience at Maastricht University, the Netherlands, have been performing parallel studies in mice and men to investigate the role of epigenetic mechanisms in ageing and AD. "We have shown that ageing in mice is associated with a variety of epigenetic changes in the ...

Enzymatic pathway common to drugs of abuse could lead to new treatment options

2013-10-07

BARCELONA (6 October 2013) – The extracellular-signal regulated kinase (ERK) pathway plays a role in multiple drug addictions and appears to modulate neuronal plasticity through epigenetic mechanisms, say French scientists. The discovery could pave the way for new therapeutic options for treating drug addictions, the researchers claim. "The molecular adaptations induced by ERK include epigenetic regulation that causes a stable response that modifies the structure of DNA, hence accounting for long-term neuronal plasticity," says Dr Jocelyne Caboche, from the Pierre-and-Marie-Curie ...

Plastic waste is a hazard for subalpine lakes too

2013-10-07

Many subalpine lakes may look beautiful and even pristine, but new evidence suggests they may also be contaminated with potentially hazardous plastics. Researchers say those tiny microplastics are likely finding their way into the food web through a wide range of freshwater invertebrates too. The findings, based on studies of Italy's Lake Garda and reported on October 7th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, suggest that the problem of plastic pollution isn't limited to the ocean. "Next to mechanical impairments of swallowed plastics mistaken as food, many ...

Seniors in long-term care residences: high risk of head injuries

2013-10-07

Seniors in long-term care facilities are at high risk of head injuries, with 37% of people experiencing head impact in falls, according to a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Falls account for more than 60% of hospital stays for traumatic brain injury in seniors over age 65 years, and the incidence is increasing, especially in people over age 80. "Recent studies have documented a rapid increase among older adults in age-adjusted rates for fall-related head injuries, especially in the long-term care environment," writes Stephen Robinovitch, ...

Battling defiant leukemia cells

2013-10-07

Two gene alterations pair up to promote the growth of leukemia cells and their escape from anti-cancer drugs, according to a study in The Journal of Experimental Medicine. Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is an aggressive cancer of the blood that is often treated with a drug called Imatinib (a.k.a. Gleevec). Although Gleevec is highly effective, some cancer cells can develop resistance to the drug. The mechanism that drives this resistance is not completely understood, but there is evidence that cancerous stem-like cells are particularly resistant and help to perpetuate ...

Mayo Clinic-led study: Less invasive surgery detects residual breast cancer in lymph nodes

2013-10-07

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Most patients whose breast cancer has spread to their lymph nodes have most of the lymph nodes in their armpit area removed after chemotherapy to determine if any cancer remains. A study conducted through the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group and led by Judy Boughey, M.D., a breast surgeon at Mayo Clinic, shows that a less-invasive procedure known as sentinel lymph node surgery successfully identified whether cancer remained in lymph nodes in 91 percent of patients with node-positive breast cancer who received chemotherapy before their surgery. ...

Use of post-operative blood clot rate as measure of hospital quality may be flawed

2013-10-07

A new study published by JAMA questions using the rate of postoperative blood clots as a hospital quality measure. The study is being released early online to coincide with the American College of Surgeons 2013 Annual Clinical Congress. The study examined whether surveillance bias (i.e., the greater the intensity of a search for a condition the greater likelihood it will be found) influences the reported rate of venous thromboembolism (VTE; blood clot). Venous thromboembolism, which includes deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), is a common postoperative ...

1 in 3 university students surveyed from a Parisian suburb report being unable to access desired food, with this food insecurity associated with academic dropout

Evaluating mobile weight loss apps on use of evidence-based behavioral strategies

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: