TY - JOUR
T1 - Great "app-eal' but not there yet: A review of iPhone nutrition applications relevant to child weight management
AU - Burrows, Tracey
AU - Khambalia, Amina
AU - Perry, Rebecca
AU - Carty, Danika
AU - Hendrie, Gillian
AU - Allman-Farinelli, Margaret
AU - Garnett, Sarah
AU - McNaughton, Sarah
AU - Rangan, Anna
AU - Truby, Helen
AU - Collins, Clare
AU - Golley, Rebecca
PY - 2015/12/1
Y1 - 2015/12/1
N2 - Aims: There is increasing interest in the use of smartphone applications (apps) for delivering child obesity management interventions and supporting lifestyle behaviour change; however, there has been very little academic research on their development. Our aim is to review nutrition-related apps designed for children currently available in Australia for their usefulness in education or support behavioural interventions for child obesity. Methods: Apps available for download in iTunes Australia between 2 April and 3 June 2013 which were suitable for children >12 years were identified. Key words were chosen to identify apps applicable to children, focusing on nutrition. Results: A total of 27 apps were included. Most apps (24/27) were not based on evidence-informed recommendations. A third of apps were developed in the USA (n = 10; 37%) and were free (67%), nine apps required upfront payment, with a mean cost of $A2.80 (range $A0.99-$A7.49). The most common nutrition features were the promotion of energy balance (n = 12 apps) and guidance on appropriate portion size (n = 15). The most common behaviour change feature was goal setting (n = 15). The five apps that scored most highly against the characteristics reviewed were: Calorie Counter Pro by My Net Diary, Weight Watchers, Swap It Don't Stop It, Control My Weight by CalorieKing and Rate What I Ate-Photo Diet Tracker. Conclusions: Very few apps were identified that could be used in education or support behavioural interventions for child obesity. There is a need to harness this technology and evaluate the applicability and use within childhood obesity research interventions.
AB - Aims: There is increasing interest in the use of smartphone applications (apps) for delivering child obesity management interventions and supporting lifestyle behaviour change; however, there has been very little academic research on their development. Our aim is to review nutrition-related apps designed for children currently available in Australia for their usefulness in education or support behavioural interventions for child obesity. Methods: Apps available for download in iTunes Australia between 2 April and 3 June 2013 which were suitable for children >12 years were identified. Key words were chosen to identify apps applicable to children, focusing on nutrition. Results: A total of 27 apps were included. Most apps (24/27) were not based on evidence-informed recommendations. A third of apps were developed in the USA (n = 10; 37%) and were free (67%), nine apps required upfront payment, with a mean cost of $A2.80 (range $A0.99-$A7.49). The most common nutrition features were the promotion of energy balance (n = 12 apps) and guidance on appropriate portion size (n = 15). The most common behaviour change feature was goal setting (n = 15). The five apps that scored most highly against the characteristics reviewed were: Calorie Counter Pro by My Net Diary, Weight Watchers, Swap It Don't Stop It, Control My Weight by CalorieKing and Rate What I Ate-Photo Diet Tracker. Conclusions: Very few apps were identified that could be used in education or support behavioural interventions for child obesity. There is a need to harness this technology and evaluate the applicability and use within childhood obesity research interventions.
KW - Apps
KW - Child
KW - Obesity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84953368018&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/1747-0080.12184
DO - 10.1111/1747-0080.12184
M3 - Article
VL - 72
SP - 363
EP - 367
JO - Nutrition and Dietetics
JF - Nutrition and Dietetics
SN - 1446-6368
IS - 4
ER -