Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, Pamplona, Spain.
JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2024 Oct 4;12:e52424. doi: 10.2196/52424.
Mobile apps represent accessible and cost-effective tools to improve nutrition and prevent chronic diseases. However, most of these apps have been characterized as having limited functionality, raising concerns about their effectiveness, acceptability, and efficacy.
The aims of the study were to assess the quality of popular nutrition-related app platforms in Spain and to describe their characteristics and functionalities.
We screened apps providing information on dietary advice, food advice, and nutritional content in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in Spain from March 2 to March 16, 2024. Apps with a star rating of ≥4 (of 5 stars), those available in Spanish, those that were free of charge, those last updated after January 2022, those with >500 reviews, and those with >500,000 downloads were included. The quality of apps was assessed using the user version of the Mobile App Rating Scale (uMARS). General characteristics and nutritional, health, and market-related functionalities of the nutrition-related apps were described. Correlations among total and uMARS sections, star ratings, and number of reviews and downloads were evaluated.
Among the 1460 apps identified in the search, 42 apps met the criteria. The majority of these (n=20, 48%) aimed at recording and analyzing food intake, followed by those providing nutritional plans or diets (n=9, 21%), advising on healthy habits (n=7, 17%), and offering recipes (n=6, 14%). The most prevalent nutritional functionalities offered were recording and monitoring body measurements (n=30, 71%), food tracking (n=26, 62%), and dietary analysis (n=25, 60%), whereas nutrition education was less common (n=16, 38%). Among market-related functionalities, advertisements were the most common among the study apps (n=30, 71%), followed by the option of sharing on social media (n=29, 69%) and customizable reminders (n=26, 62%). Sharing the recorded information in the app with health professionals was infrequent (n=1, 2%). The mean (SD) total uMARS score (maximum 5 points) was 3.78 (0.35), while the mean (SD) uMARS scores for functionality, aesthetics, engagement, and information were 4.21 (0.38), 3.94 (0.54), 3.51 (0.46), and 3.48 (0.44), respectively. Lower mean scores were observed for the subjective quality (mean 2.65, SD 0.56) and perceived impact (mean 3.06, SD 0.67). Moderate to strong positive significant correlations were mostly observed between total uMARS and section-specific uMARS scores, while the correlations between the uMARS section scores were mostly moderate positive. Total uMARS scores were very weakly correlated with user rating, number of reviews, and number of downloads.
The quality of popular nutrition-related app platforms in Spain was acceptable, with observed remarkable differences between sections. The majority of the apps were appealing due to their user-friendly interfaces. Only a few apps, however, provided dietary structure analysis or nutritional education. Further research is needed to assess the long-term impact of these apps on users.
移动应用程序是一种具有成本效益的工具，可以改善营养状况，预防慢性病。然而，大多数此类应用程序的功能有限，这引起了人们对其有效性、可接受性和功效的担忧。
本研究旨在评估西班牙流行的营养相关应用程序平台的质量，并描述其特点和功能。
我们于 2024 年 3 月 2 日至 3 月 16 日在西班牙的苹果应用商店（Apple App Store）和谷歌应用商店（Google Play Store）筛选了提供饮食建议、食物建议和营养内容信息的应用程序。符合以下条件的应用程序被纳入研究：星级评分为≥4（满分 5 星）、提供西班牙语版本、免费、更新日期在 2022 年 1 月之后、拥有>500 条评论和>500,000 次下载量。使用用户版移动应用程序评级量表（uMARS）评估应用程序的质量。描述营养相关应用程序的一般特征以及营养、健康和市场相关功能。评估总分和 uMARS 各部分之间、星级评分之间以及评论和下载量之间的相关性。
在搜索中确定了 1460 个应用程序，其中 42 个应用程序符合标准。其中大多数（n=20，48%）旨在记录和分析食物摄入，其次是提供营养计划或饮食（n=9，21%）、提供健康习惯建议（n=7，17%）和提供食谱（n=6，14%）。提供的最常见的营养功能包括记录和监测身体测量（n=30，71%）、食物跟踪（n=26，62%）和膳食分析（n=25，60%），而营养教育则较少见（n=16，38%）。在市场相关功能方面，研究中的应用程序最常见的是广告（n=30，71%），其次是在社交媒体上分享（n=29，69%）和可定制的提醒（n=26，62%）。与健康专业人员共享应用程序中记录的信息很少见（n=1，2%）。（最高 5 分）总 uMARS 评分为 3.78（0.35），功能、美观、参与度和信息 uMARS 评分为 4.21（0.38）、3.94（0.54）、3.51（0.46）和 3.48（0.44）。主观质量（平均 2.65，标准差 0.56）和感知影响（平均 3.06，标准差 0.67）的平均得分较低。总分和各部分的 uMARS 评分之间观察到中度至强的显著正相关，而 uMARS 各部分之间的相关性则为中度至强正相关。总分 uMARS 与用户评分、评论数量和下载数量的相关性非常弱。
西班牙流行的营养相关应用程序平台的质量是可以接受的，各部分之间存在显著差异。大多数应用程序由于其用户友好的界面而具有吸引力。然而，只有少数应用程序提供饮食结构分析或营养教育。需要进一步研究这些应用程序对用户的长期影响。
