| Title |
Weight loss—there is an app for that! But does it adhere to evidence-informed practices?
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Translational Behavioral Medicine, September 2011
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s13142-011-0076-5 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Emily R Breton, Bernard F Fuemmeler, Lorien C Abroms |
| Abstract |
Little is known about how much smartphone apps for weight control adhere to evidence-informed practices. The aim of this study was to review and summarize the content of available weight control apps. Information on content, user rating, and price was extracted from iTunes on September 25, 2009. Apps (n = 204) were coded for adherence to 13 evidence-informed practices for weight control. Latent class analysis was used to identify subgroups of apps based on endorsement practices. Only a small percentage of apps had five or more of the 13 practices (15%). Latent class analysis revealed three main types of apps: diet, physical activity, and weight journals (19%); dietary advice and journals (34%); and weight trackers (46%). User ratings were not associated with apps from these three classes. Many apps have insufficient evidence-informed content. Research is needed that seeks to develop, improve, and evaluate these apps. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 9 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 3 | 33% |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 11% |
| Canada | 1 | 11% |
| Spain | 1 | 11% |
| Belgium | 1 | 11% |
| Unknown | 2 | 22% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 6 | 67% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 2 | 22% |
| Scientists | 1 | 11% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 407 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 10 | 2% |
| Malaysia | 3 | <1% |
| United Kingdom | 3 | <1% |
| Canada | 3 | <1% |
| Portugal | 2 | <1% |
| Turkey | 1 | <1% |
| Norway | 1 | <1% |
| Sweden | 1 | <1% |
| Finland | 1 | <1% |
| Other | 5 | 1% |
| Unknown | 377 | 93% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Master | 78 | 19% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 63 | 15% |
| Student > Bachelor | 62 | 15% |
| Researcher | 51 | 13% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 29 | 7% |
| Other | 81 | 20% |
| Unknown | 43 | 11% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 70 | 17% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 64 | 16% |
| Computer Science | 63 | 15% |
| Social Sciences | 38 | 9% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 37 | 9% |
| Other | 77 | 19% |
| Unknown | 58 | 14% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 20. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 12 July 2017.
All research outputs
#1,725,001
of 24,348,815 outputs
Outputs from Translational Behavioral Medicine
#91
of 1,046 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#7,904
of 129,495 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Translational Behavioral Medicine
#1
of 7 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 24,348,815 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 92nd percentile: it's in the top 10% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 1,046 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 8.8. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 91% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 7 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has scored higher than all of them