Centre for Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TZ, UK.
Department of Oncology, Medical Sciences Division, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK.
Nutrients. 2022 Mar 18;14(6):1290. doi: 10.3390/nu14061290.
Smartphone apps might represent an opportunity to promote adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet). This study aimed to evaluate the quality of commercially available apps for the MedDiet and the presence of behavioural change techniques (BCTs) used by these apps. A systematic search was conducted on the Apple App and Google Play stores in November 2021. Apps were included if they provided information on the MedDiet or if their objective was to promote a healthy lifestyle through adherence to the MedDiet. Eligible apps were independently evaluated by two reviewers with regard to their quality (engagement, functionality, aesthetics and information quality) using the 5-point Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS; with higher scores indicating higher quality), and the presence of BCTs using an established 26-item BCT taxonomy. Of the 55 analysed apps, 52 (94.5%) were free, 50 (90.9%) provided recipe ideas, 29 (52.7%) provided meal plans, and 22 (40%) provided information on the health benefits of the MedDiet. The overall quality mean MARS score was 2.84 (standard deviation (SD) = 0.42), with functionality being the highest scored MARS domain (mean = 3.58, SD = 0.44) and engagement the lowest (mean = 2.29, SD = 0.61). The average number of BCTs in the analysed apps was 2.3 (SD = 1.4; range: 0-6 per app). The number of BCTs was positively correlated with app information quality (r = 0.269, = 0.047), overall MARS score (r = 0.267, = 0.049), app subjective quality (r = 0.326, = 0.015) and app-specific quality (r = 0.351, = 0.009). These findings suggest that currently available apps might provide information on the MedDiet, but the incorporation of more BCTs is warranted to maximise the potential for behaviour change towards the MedDiet.
智能手机应用程序可能代表着促进地中海饮食（MedDiet）依从性的机会。本研究旨在评估市场上可用的 MedDiet 商业应用程序的质量，以及这些应用程序使用的行为改变技术（BCTs）。2021 年 11 月，在苹果应用商店和谷歌 Play 商店进行了系统搜索。如果应用程序提供了有关 MedDiet 的信息，或者其目标是通过遵守 MedDiet 来促进健康的生活方式，则将其纳入研究。合格的应用程序由两位审查员独立评估其质量（参与度、功能、美观和信息质量），使用 5 分制移动应用程序评分量表（MARS；分数越高表示质量越高），以及使用已建立的 26 项 BCT 分类法评估 BCTs 的存在情况。在分析的 55 个应用程序中，52 个（94.5%）是免费的，50 个（90.9%）提供了食谱创意，29 个（52.7%）提供了膳食计划，22 个（40%）提供了 MedDiet 健康益处的信息。总体质量平均 MARS 得分为 2.84（标准差（SD）= 0.42），功能是得分最高的 MARS 领域（平均值= 3.58，SD = 0.44），参与度最低（平均值= 2.29，SD = 0.61）。分析的应用程序中平均 BCT 数量为 2.3（SD = 1.4；范围：每个应用程序 0-6 个）。BCT 数量与应用程序信息质量呈正相关（r = 0.269， = 0.047）、总体 MARS 得分（r = 0.267， = 0.049）、应用程序主观质量（r = 0.326， = 0.015）和应用程序特定质量（r = 0.351， = 0.009）。这些发现表明，目前可用的应用程序可能提供有关 MedDiet 的信息，但需要纳入更多的 BCT 以最大限度地发挥改变 MedDiet 行为的潜力。
