Albarrak Moath Mohammed, Zakaria Nasriah, Meo Sultan Ayoub
Moath Mohammed Albarrak Public Health Operation Center, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Nasriah Zakaria. Department of Computer Sciences and Information Systems, College of Applied Sciences, Al Maarefa University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and E-health Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya, Malaysia.
Pak J Med Sci. 2024 Oct;40(9):1930-1936. doi: 10.12669/pjms.40.9.9064.
Obesity is a chronic, multifaceted, leading health problem causing numerous non-communicable diseases with a huge burden on the global healthcare system and economies. Worldwide, multiple interventions have been familiarized for weight reduction strategies, however, in recent years, mobile health applications (mHealth apps) for reshaping weight reduction have been introduced. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the role of mobile health applications in reducing weight among users in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
This questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, and Medical Education, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh from May 2019 to December 2022. A total of 502 participants, 332 (66.1%) females and 170 (33.9%) males aged 18-50 years, using smartphones, residing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia were recruited. The questionnaire was distributed via social media platforms including WhatsApp, and emails and information were recorded.
Among 502 participants, 221 (44.02%) were using mobile health applications and 281 (55.98%) did not use mobile health applications. The results revealed that the participants who have been using mHealth apps for the last six months had significantly decreased body weight compared to those who did not use the mHealth apps (p=0.001).
The study participants using mobile health applications (mHealth apps) had significantly reduced their body weight and felt healthier. The mHealth apps provide health-related information regularly to individuals to track their weight, monitor diet, and physical activity, and information about their overall health.
肥胖是一个慢性、多方面的主要健康问题，会引发众多非传染性疾病，给全球医疗系统和经济带来巨大负担。在全球范围内，人们已经熟知多种减肥策略，然而，近年来，用于重塑减肥方式的移动健康应用程序（mHealth应用程序）已经出现。因此，本研究旨在调查移动健康应用程序在沙特阿拉伯利雅得用户减肥中的作用。
本基于问卷调查的横断面研究于2019年5月至2022年12月在沙特阿拉伯利雅得国王沙特大学医学院家庭与社区医学系及医学教育系进行。共招募了502名年龄在18至50岁之间、使用智能手机、居住在沙特阿拉伯利雅得的参与者，其中332名（66.1%）为女性，170名（33.9%）为男性。问卷通过包括WhatsApp在内的社交媒体平台分发，并记录相关信息。
在502名参与者中，221名（44.02%）使用移动健康应用程序，281名（55.98%）未使用移动健康应用程序。结果显示，在过去六个月中使用mHealth应用程序的参与者的体重相比未使用mHealth应用程序的参与者有显著下降（p=0.001）。
使用移动健康应用程序（mHealth应用程序）的研究参与者体重显著减轻，且感觉更健康。mHealth应用程序定期向个人提供与健康相关信息，以跟踪他们的体重、监测饮食和身体活动以及提供有关其整体健康的信息。
