Bardus Marco, van Beurden Samantha B, Smith Jane R, Abraham Charles
Department of Health Promotion and Community Health, American University of Beirut, Riad El Solh, Beirut, 1107 2020, Lebanon.
Psychology Applied to Health group, University of Exeter Medical School, St Luke's Campus, Heavitree Road, Exeter, EX1 2LU, United Kingdom.
Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2016 Mar 10;13:35. doi: 10.1186/s12966-016-0359-9.
There are thousands of apps promoting dietary improvement, increased physical activity (PA) and weight management. Despite a growing number of reviews in this area, popular apps have not been comprehensively analysed in terms of features related to engagement, functionality, aesthetics, information quality, and content, including the types of change techniques employed.
The databases containing information about all Health and Fitness apps on GP and iTunes (7,954 and 25,491 apps) were downloaded in April 2015. Database filters were applied to select the most popular apps available in both stores. Two researchers screened the descriptions selecting only weight management apps. Features, app quality and content were independently assessed using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) and previously-defined categories of techniques relevant to behaviour change. Inter-coder reliabilities were calculated, and correlations between features explored.
Of the 23 popular apps included in the review 16 were free (70%), 15 (65%) addressed weight control, diet and PA combined; 19 (83%) allowed behavioural tracking. On 5-point MARS scales, apps were of average quality (Md = 3.2, IQR = 1.4); "functionality" (Md = 4.0, IQR = 1.1) was the highest and "information quality" (Md = 2.0, IQR = 1.1) was the lowest domain. On average, 10 techniques were identified per app (range: 1-17) and of the 34 categories applied, goal setting and self-monitoring techniques were most frequently identified. App quality was positively correlated with number of techniques included (rho = .58, p < .01) and number of "technical" features (rho = .48, p < .05), which was also associated with the number of techniques included (rho = .61, p < .01). Apps that provided tracking used significantly more techniques than those that did not. Apps with automated tracking scored significantly higher in engagement, aesthetics, and overall MARS scores. Those that used change techniques previously associated with effectiveness (i.e., goal setting, self-monitoring and feedback) also had better "information quality".
Popular apps assessed have overall moderate quality and include behavioural tracking features and a range of change techniques associated with behaviour change. These apps may influence behaviour, although more attention to information quality and evidence-based content are warranted to improve their quality.
有成千上万款应用程序致力于促进饮食改善、增加身体活动（PA）以及体重管理。尽管该领域的综述数量不断增加，但尚未对热门应用程序在参与度、功能、美学、信息质量和内容等相关特征方面进行全面分析，包括所采用的改变技巧类型。
2015年4月下载了包含GP和iTunes上所有健康与健身应用程序信息的数据库（分别有7954款和25491款应用程序）。应用数据库筛选器以选择两家应用商店中最受欢迎的应用程序。两名研究人员对描述进行筛选，仅选择体重管理应用程序。使用移动应用评分量表（MARS）和先前定义的与行为改变相关的技巧类别，对应用程序的特征、质量和内容进行独立评估。计算编码员间的信度，并探讨各特征之间的相关性。
在纳入综述的23款热门应用程序中，16款是免费的（70%），15款（65%）涉及体重控制、饮食和PA的综合管理；19款（83%）允许进行行为跟踪。在5分制的MARS量表上，应用程序质量为中等（中位数=3.2，四分位距=1.4）；“功能”（中位数=4.0，四分位距=1.1）得分最高，“信息质量”（中位数=2.0，四分位距=1.1）得分最低。平均而言，每个应用程序识别出10种技巧（范围：1 - 17种），在所应用的34个类别中，目标设定和自我监测技巧最为常见。应用程序质量与所包含的技巧数量（相关系数=0.58，p<0.01）以及“技术”特征数量（相关系数=0.48，p<0.05）呈正相关，而“技术”特征数量也与所包含的技巧数量相关（相关系数=0.61，p<0.01）。提供跟踪功能的应用程序比未提供跟踪功能的应用程序使用的技巧显著更多。具有自动跟踪功能的应用程序在参与度、美学和整体MARS评分方面得分显著更高。那些使用先前与有效性相关的改变技巧（即目标设定、自我监测和反馈）的应用程序，其“信息质量”也更好。
所评估的热门应用程序总体质量中等，包括行为跟踪功能以及一系列与行为改变相关的技巧。这些应用程序可能会影响行为，不过为了提高其质量，有必要更多地关注信息质量和基于证据的内容。
