Do Arabic weight-loss apps adhere to evidence-informed practices?

作者：Alnasser Aroub A^*; Amalraj Raja E; Sathiaseelan Arjuna; Al Khalifa Abdulrahman S; Marais Debbi

来源：Translational Behavioral Medicine, 2016, 6(3): 396-402.

DOI：10.1007/s13142-015-0347-7

• Smartphones
• Tablets
• Weight loss
• Arabic
• Apps
• Weight reduction programs

Mobile technology has been used successfully for promoting health and weight loss and for treating obesity. There is a high prevalence of smartphone and tablet users among the Saudi population. This study aimed to identify whether current Arabic weight-loss apps had features that adhered to evidence-informed practices. The six most relevant app stores were systematically searched using the Arabic words for weight and diet (n=298). All apps that met the inclusion criteria (n=65) were downloaded and examined for adherence to 13 evidence-informed practices. Latent class analysis identified two subgroups of apps: self-monitoring (15 % of apps) and advice-giving apps (85 %). The median number of evidence-informed practices was 1 (1, 2), with no apps having more than six and only nine apps including four to six. Meal planning was the most common feature (38 % of apps). These findings identify serious weaknesses in the currently available Arabic weight-loss apps. Thus, existing and future apps should include more features based on the best available evidence in the context of Arab culture.

• 出版日期2016-9