Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Mobile apps for pediatric obesity prevention and treatment, healthy eating, and physical activity promotion: just fun and games?

  • Published:
Translational Behavioral Medicine

ABSTRACT

Mobile applications (apps) offer a novel way to engage children in behavior change, but little is known about content of commercially available apps for this population. We analyzed the content of apps for iPhone/iPad for pediatric weight loss, healthy eating (HE), and physical activity (PA). Fifty-seven apps were downloaded and tested by two independent raters. Apps were coded for: inclusion of the Expert Committee for Pediatric Obesity Prevention's (ECPOP) eight recommended strategies (e.g., set goals) and seven behavioral targets (e.g., do ≥1 h of PA per day), utilization of gaming elements, and general characteristics. Most apps lacked any expert recommendations (n = 35, 61.4 %). The mean number of recommendations among apps that used recommendations was 3.6 ± 2.7 out of 15, 56.1 % (n = 32) apps were classified as games, and mean price per app was $1.05 ± 1.66. Most apps reviewed lacked expert recommendations and could be strengthened by addition of comprehensive information about health behavior change and opportunities for goal setting.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Cl O et al. Prevalence of obesity and trends in body mass index among us children and adolescents, 1999–2010. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association. 2012;307(5):483-490.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. 2010 Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance, Summary of Growth Indicators by Age (Children Aged <5 Years), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Pediatric and Pregnancy Nutrition Surveillance System, Editor 2010: Atlanta.

  3. Freedman DS. et al. Cardiovascular risk factors and excess adiposity among overweight children and adolescents: The Bogalusa Heart Study. J Pediatr. 2007;150(1):12-17 e2.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Singh AS. et al. Tracking of childhood overweight into adulthood: A systematic review of the literature. Obes Rev. 2008;9(5):474-88.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Barlow SE. The Expert Committee. Expert committee recommendations regarding the prevention, assessment, and treatment of child and adolescent overweight and obesity: summary report. Pediatrics. 2007;120(Supplement 4):S164-S192.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Whitlock, E.P., et al., Effectiveness of weight management interventions in children: A targeted systematic review for the USPSTF. Pediatrics. 2010.

  7. Epstein LH. Wrotniak BH. Future directions for pediatric obesity treatment. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2010;18(Suppl 1):S8-12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Boushey CJ. et al. Use of technology in children's dietary assessment. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2009;63(Suppl 1):S50-7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. The Health Educator's Social Media Toolkit, Office of the Associate Director for Communication, Editor 2011, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Atlanta.

  10. Purcell K, Half of adult cell phone owners have apps on their phones in Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. Washington, D.C.;2011.

  11. Lenhart, A., Teens, smartphones & texting, in Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. Washington, D.C.;2012.

  12. Free phones, free cell phones, smartphones, & mobile devices from AT&T. 2012 [cited 2012 September 8]; Available from: https://www.att.com/shop/wireless/devices/freephones.html.

  13. MetroPCS resuscitating $40 plan for 4G LTE smartphones. 2012 [cited 2012 September 8]; Available from: http://www.cnet.com/8301-17918_1-57370479-85/metropcs-resuscitating-$40-plan-for-4g-lte-smartphones/.

  14. Smith, G. Smartphones bring hope, frustration as substitute for computers Huffington Post. 2012.

  15. Smith A., Nearly half of American adults are smartphone owners in The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project Washington, D.C;2012

  16. Breton E, Fuemmeler B, Abroms L. Weight loss—There is an app for that! But does it adhere to evidence-informed practices? Translational Behavioral Med. 2011;1(4):523-529.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Abroms LC. et al. iPhone apps for smoking cessation: A content analysis. Am J Prev Med. 2011;40(3):279-85.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Lookout Mobile Security, App Genome Report—February 2011, 2011.

  19. iTunes. Application ratings. 2012 [cited 2012 June 20]; Available from: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/appRatings.

  20. McGonigal J. Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World Vol. 1. New York: New York Penguin Press; 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Ferguson B. The emergence of games for health. Games for Health J. 2012;1(1):3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Wireframe, L. Hyperant™ HyperActivity™ cards. 2012 [cited 2012 September 24]; Available from: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hyperant-hyperactivity-cards/id512140657?mt=8.

  23. Webber KH, Tate DF, Quintiliani LM. Motivational interviewing in internet groups: A pilot study for weight loss. J Am Diet Assoc. 2008;108(6):1029-32.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Cool Skipping Lite. 2012 [cited 2012 July 17]; Available from: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id486603558.

  25. Food N'Me. SmashYourFood. 2012 [cited 2012 September 8]; Available from: http://smashyourfood.foodnme.com/en/.

  26. Apps for Healthy Kids. 2010 [cited 2012 September 8]; Available from: http://appsforhealthykids.com/.

  27. Rules—Apps for healthy kids. 2010 [cited 2012 September 8]; Available from: http://appsforhealthykids.com/rules.

  28. Food N'Me. For parents—SmashYourFood. 2012 [cited 2012 September 8]; Available from: http://smashyourfood.foodnme.com/en/for-parents/.

  29. Patrick H, Nicklas TA. A review of family and social determinants of children's eating patterns and diet quality. J Am Coll Nutr. 2005;24(2):83-92.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Wilson DK. et al. Neighborhood and parental supports for physical activity in minority adolescents. Am J Prev Med. 2011;41(4):399-406.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

No funding was received for this research.

Conflicts of interest

None.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    Danielle E. Schoffman BA, Gabrielle Turner-McGrievy PhD & Sonya J. Jones PhD

  2. Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    Gabrielle Turner-McGrievy PhD, Sonya J. Jones PhD & Sara Wilcox PhD

  3. Prevention Research Center, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    Gabrielle Turner-McGrievy PhD, Sonya J. Jones PhD & Sara Wilcox PhD

  4. Department of Exercise Science, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    Sara Wilcox PhD

Authors
  1. Danielle E. Schoffman BA
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gabrielle Turner-McGrievy PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sonya J. Jones PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Sara Wilcox PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Danielle E. Schoffman BA.

Additional information

Implications

Practice: Mobile applications based on expert-recommended strategies and behavioral targets could be powerful tools in the prevention and treatment of pediatric obesity through weight loss, healthy eating, and physical activity, but they must undergo proper efficacy testing before they are recommended by clinicians.

Policy: Health-focused applications should be passed through a third-party rating system that will communicate to consumers whether the applications include expert recommendations and if they have undergone efficacy testing.

Research: Collaborative research is needed to ensure that evidence-based practices and expert recommendations are integrated into technologies marketed as health-promoting tools.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

ESM 1

(PDF 27.6 kb)

About this article

Cite this article

Schoffman, D.E., Turner-McGrievy, G., Jones, S.J. et al. Mobile apps for pediatric obesity prevention and treatment, healthy eating, and physical activity promotion: just fun and games?. Behav. Med. Pract. Policy Res. 3, 320–325 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-013-0206-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-013-0206-3

KEYWORDS

Search

Navigation